Aftermath
by broadwaypants
Summary: A follow up to Day of Silence, in the form of reader-requested oneshots.
1. Brotherly Bonding

_Hello again! The _Day of Silence_ saga (haha, I called it a saga) has returned in the form of requested oneshots from the awesome people that reviewed my story. And shame on you, people that gave me a prompt but hadn't previously reviewed. I'm shaking my finger at you. Sneaky people, trying to fool me._

_Anyway, just to address how this is going to work: I made a master list of everything that was requested in the order I received the reviews. I'll be writing them in order, so apologies if it takes a while for me to get to yours. I'll post the pennames of the people that prompted each particular chapter at the end. Obviously, some things were requested more than once, so sometimes there will be multiple names. I guess you could say that's my way of thanking you for your promt and dedicating the chapter to you. So keep an eye out for your penname!_

_And without any further ramblings, here are Kurt and Finn telling each other what happened, served with a side of brotherly bonding!_

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The first thing Kurt noticed when he woke up the next morning was Finn's empty bed.

That was enough to get him out of his own bed and running up the stairs. He didn't care that he was in his pajamas and his hair was mussed. He just wanted Finn to be okay. Not being in bed was definitely not okay.

He heard noises coming from the family room, so he turned to look there first. The television was on in the middle of a baseball game. The volume was down low, but Kurt could hear the commentator call for a replay. Kurt reached over the sofa to grab the remote from the side table, switching the television off.

He nearly jumped through the ceiling when a sleepy voice protested, "I was watching that."

Kurt walked around to the other side of the couch, realizing that Finn was sprawled across it. One arm was behind his head and there was a throw blanked bunched up over his legs.

"Sorry," Kurt handed over the remote, perching himself on the edge of an armchair. "I didn't see you."

This made Finn laugh. He laughed so hard that he had to sit upright, clutching his stomach, wheezing. Kurt stiffened in his seat. Not only was that not the response he expected, but this hysterical laughter was not Finn's typical laughter. It sounded too forced to be genuine.

"Why is that funny?" he asked anyway, noticing that Finn had tears in his eyes.

"It's just," Finn was choking on his words, "I'm Frankenteen!" There was more laughter. "And you didn't – you didn't see me!" The laughter subsided into a low chuckle and then Finn was silent. Kurt opened his mouth to ask a question, but a giggle erupted from Finn's mouth before he could form words.

Kurt counted to ten, then tried again.

"What time did you get in?"

Finn gave him a puzzled look.

"Last night. You weren't back when I went to bed. How late were you out?"

"Oh, right," comprehension dawned. "Yeah, Mom and I went out to eat and we ran into Rachel and her dads. We got to talking – well, Mom talked and the rest of us used notebooks – and we all went back to Rachel's for ice cream." He grinned, adding, "It was nice. Her dads are cool. You'd like them."

"That's nice," Kurt wondered if Finn had talked to Rachel about what he had been through yesterday. Even though both he and Rachel now saw Finn as nothing but a friend, Kurt couldn't help but feel like he'd been sucker punched. If Finn had talked to Rachel, then he wouldn't need Kurt's help. And Kurt would never admit it, but he needed Finn's help right now. He needed to talk to someone who understood, and Finn was that person.

"Why didn't you come down once you got home?" Kurt found himself asking. "I'm not that light of a sleeper, if that was the problem."

"No, I did," Finn crossed his legs, sitting Indian-style. "I went down as soon as we got home. You were already asleep, obviously. But then I couldn't get to sleep, so I came back up."

"Have you been up all night?"

"Yep," Finn laughed again. "I feel like I'm on a sugar rush!"

"Been there," Kurt remembered the feeling well. "You'll crash later today. You'll drop like a rock as soon as you don't have anything else to do."

"Oh," Finn's expression softened and his posture slumped. "So I will have to sleep eventually, then?"

"Yeah, you will," Kurt really didn't like how Finn seemed to be completely dreading going to sleep. That had happened to him after his first dumpster dive. He had kept feeling hands on him, kept smelling the trash, kept hearing the flies buzzing.

"But what if I drink, like, a gallon of coffee and take that Vitamin D stuff again?" Finn's face brightened.

"That might work for about two days," Kurt conceded, "but that's really dangerous and unhealthy. Probably illegal, too, seeing how that one guy got arrested for buying so much of the Vitamin D stuff."

"It's not fair!" Finn yelled suddenly, slamming a fist into the couch. "I don't want to go to sleep!"

Kurt got up, walking over to sit next to Finn and laid a hand on his arm. "Talk to me," he said quietly, hoping his voice didn't give away how badly he needed this conversation to happen. "Tell me what happened yesterday."

"Why?" Finn's voice was more like a snarl, and he shrugged Kurt's hand away. Kurt was suddenly reminded of the time Finn had blown up at him. He could see the same anger in Finn's expression. Reminding himself that this time the anger wasn't directed at him, Kurt sighed softly.

"Because you're talking to the only person at McKinley who's been put through it. I guarantee is; whatever they did to you, they've done to me."

"They wouldn't," Finn argued. "You're Kurt. You're all fashionable and proud and you know big words and stuff."

"I also weigh little more than 115 pounds, which makes me an easy target," Kurt pointed out. "The in-crowd doesn't like me, I go against the norm, and I don't buy into their way of doing things. I might as well wear a giant target on my back and a sign saying, 'Hello, I'm a terrorist and it's your civic duty to beat the shit out of me'."

Finn didn't say anything for a moment, just sat there looking at him. His mouth hung open slightly, the dull look normally in his eye replaced with shock.

"But you're… you!" he tried again.

"Exactly," Kurt nodded. "And that's why they hate me."

"But why would they do that to you?" Finn ran a hand through his hair. "Why would any of them ever do that to you? And how are you still you? Like, how do you walk all proud with your nose in the air if they've done that to you?"

"Because I don't let them win," Kurt said simply. He paused, wondering if he really should tell Finn about what had happened. He could tell now that Finn had never known that these things happened at McKinley. There was an innocence about him that made him too kind to so much as consider it. But Karofsky and his brother and whoever else had taken that innocence away from him, and now he had to accept that this was real.

"Finn, you're a really nice guy," Kurt decided to ease into the conversation, "and the guys on the football team know that. They know you'd never do something like this to anyone else, so they never told you about it. Remember when I told you at the beginning of the year about the rest of them nailing our lawn furniture to the roof?" There was a nod. "That's proof enough that they don't always tell everyone about everything. It makes sense that they wouldn't have told you."

"So you're saying I was too stupid to realize that the rest of my football team was pantsing people?"

"No, of course not," Kurt backtracked quickly. "I'm just saying that even when you think you know everything, there's always someone who's keeping a secret from you. I thought I was the only person at McKinley who had to put up with this, but turns out there was someone else too."

"Yeah, me," Finn said darkly, head drooping and brows furrowing.

"And someone else," Kurt explained. "Puck said that there was a third guy."

"Maybe we should find out who it is," Finn suggested. "We could start a club. The 'we think the Karofsky brothers are complete dicks' club." Finn snorted at his own joke. The snort turned into a chuckle, and then he was full-out laughing again. Kurt really didn't like this.

He waited for Finn to stop laughing, expecting to have to steer the conversation back to where he wanted it to go, but Finn surprised him. The laughter ended abruptly and Finn asked, a completely serious look on his face, "Did they take your pants off too?"

A tremor went through Kurt's body. The way Finn was staring at him was scaring him.

"Not this time," he said honestly. He crossed his legs, looking down at his crotch as if he was expecting to see a giant sign saying, "Hi, I'm Kurt's penis and I've been fondled by Dave Karofsky." He settled his own hands in his lap, as if that would somehow make the memory go away.

"But they did before?" Finn prompted, eyes positively on fire.

"Yeah, they did," Kurt told his lap. "Just once, but… once is enough."

They lapsed into silence. Finn started tossing the remote between his hands, probably so he would have a distraction. Finn didn't ask what else they did and Kurt wasn't about to just spring that on him with no warning.

But then: "When you say once is enough…" Finn looked over at him, a pleading look in his eyes, "do you mean that it'll never go away?"

Kurt wanted to say no. He wanted to tell Finn that he would forget it all by tomorrow and that he would never have to deal with it ever again. He wanted to say the magic words that made all the hurt go away, but as far as he knew, there were no magic words. And he would know, because he'd been looking for them for four years.

"It gets better," he said instead of explicitly answering. "The day after is the hardest. You keep looking over your shoulder, expecting to see his face right there." Kurt's hands went to the hem of the T-shirt he was wearing, fiddling with it. "It'll take a while before you can go into the locker room again. If you're like me, you'll probably walk on the other side of the hallway if you have to pass it." He paused, not wanting to explain the rest. But he knew he would. He had to.

"Sometimes if you pass someone on the street who looks at you the wrong way, you'll walk a little faster. You might get physically sick if you think about it for too long, but that'll pass." He paused again. "You'll probably lock yourself in the bathroom the next time you get changed. It's the paranoia, but that'll pass too. And sometimes you'll just get irrationally angry or sad or scared. But it's not really irrational, because you just really don't want it to happen again."

They lapsed into silence again. Kurt's throat started feeling dry, but he didn't go get a drink. He stayed put, fiddling with the hem of his shirt and wanting Finn to say something.

"Did they rape you?" Finn looked over at Kurt as he said it, eyes watery and face sickly pale.

"No," Kurt's voice cracked. "Not according to the literal definition, they didn't."

"What do you mean?" Kurt hated how Finn looked like he was about to vomit.

"Rape is technically forced sexual intercourse," Kurt wished he wasn't saying this, "but as far as I'm concerned, any unwanted contact that is in any way sexual feels close enough."

Finn's hand found his own, holding it tightly and squishing his fingers together.

"What'd they do?" he asked, voice even. It was deeper than usual and he was looking at his lap, but Kurt knew that Finn understood. He understood that they needed each other's support.

"Karofsky touched me." His voice sounded too loud. "He put his hand… down there and started," Kurt squirmed in his seat, squeezing his legs together, "rubbing it." There was a sharp intake of breath from Finn, and Kurt added quickly, "I had my pants on, but I could still feel everything. Right where I didn't want it." He swallowed, trying to drown the lump in his throat.

"What about the other time?" Finn asked, and Kurt knew that he wanted to get this part over with. One fell swoop of information he really didn't want to know about his almost-step-brother, and it was done.

"They got my pants off and slapped me on the ass." That time didn't feel as bad now. "They took pictures of me and said if I told anyone, they'd put the pictures on the internet." He sighed heavily. "I feel so vain now. My ass could have stopped all of this if I'd been brave enough."

"Don't beat yourself up about it," Finn tried to comfort him. "You know how those two are. They would have found a way to get to us anyway."

"Will you tell me what happened to you?" Kurt asked meekly, as if Finn would start shouting or laughing again.

"It feels like nothing," Finn looked at the blank television screen, not looking at Kurt. "After hearing what they did to you, it feels like nothing happened to me."

"But it is something," Kurt insisted. "You can't compare them, Finn. Just because they may have gone further with me doesn't make yours any less important."

"They took my pants off," Finn was speaking quickly, "and they said they were checking to see if me and Mr. Schue did anything because I wouldn't tell them. And then they just got quiet and nothing happened and then they were all gone."

Kurt had tears in his eyes now. Poor Finn, being so scared and humiliated for absolutely no reason. Bringing Mr. Schue into it was such a low blow, and Kurt felt his stomach turn over as he thought about it. Finn didn't have a father, and Mr. Schue was probably the first man to show genuine interest and concern for Finn since his father's death. And here those assholes were, twisting that relationship into something it wasn't.

"I'm sorry," Kurt's voice shook and his tears fell onto his lap. "I had no idea they were going to do that. I should have stopped Mr. Schue when he said he was going to get you all in on Day of Silence."

"No!" Finn protested, turning to look at Kurt again, the fire back in his eyes. "I mean, yeah, I got a shitty deal out of it, but we did it as a team. We wouldn't have done it if it wasn't worth something to us. Hell, I would have talked and told them none of it was true if keeping quiet meant nothing."

Kurt was taken aback by that sudden outburst. He wiped his eyes, squeezing Finn's hand and saying, "Thanks."

"You're my brother," Finn told him. "Brothers stick up for each other."

They shared a small smile, and Kurt asked, "Can I hug you?"

"I feel like that's a good idea," Finn was grinning now, so Kurt wrapped his arms around Finn's neck, pulling him closer. Finn hugged Kurt around the middle tightly, one thumb tracing a small circle on Kurt's back.

When they let each other go, Kurt caught sight of the little clock on the VCR. It was still early in the morning, way too early to be awake.

"Lie back down and try to sleep," he instructed, not protesting when Finn didn't wait for him to move off the couch and just collapsed on top of him, head resting in his lap.

"You better be here when I wake up," Finn ordered.

"Well, Finn Hudson, your giant Frankenteen head is making moving quite difficult at the moment," Kurt shot back.

"There, Kurt's back," Finn grinned up at him before closing his eyes.

It was a little weird, sitting with Finn's head in his lap. This was the sort of thing sickeningly adorable couples did together, something he had, admittedly, dreamed about doing with Finn back when he still had a crush on him. But now they were just two brothers who loved and cared for each other, and those feelings were a thing of the past. And when Kurt noticed that Finn's breathing had slowed, he looked down and noticed that he'd been absently running his fingers through Finn's hair.

They were like a disgustingly adorable cliché right now, and if anyone had been here to witness it, Kurt probably would have died of embarrassment.

He knew that both of them would still need time to deal with what had happened. Jut because Finn was here to hold his hand didn't make it all better, but it certainly helped. And when he saw how peaceful Finn looked, he liked to think that he had helped too.

Oh yeah, they were going to make the best step-brothers ever.

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_Requested by and dedicated to: **sjr, ****Adatrix, ****ChrystalMart, ****Dutch92, ****Serpergirl, ****the darkness revealed, ****BananaBat16, ****seacat03, ****lizzyloula, ****goodythreeshoes, ****FlopsyOllie,** and******************************************Nyx Nox Night.**_


	2. Karofsky style beat down

Finn knew this was a stupid idea.

Someone was bound to see him. He was going to get caught and then he would get in trouble. Real trouble, because he's certain that Mr. and Mrs. Karofsky would not be as understanding as Ms. Corcoran.

But he's doing it anyway.

He's slashing Dave Karofsky's tires.

And it feels incredibly good.

Sure, he's completely scared out of his wits while he's doing it. He has to bend over with his back to the rest of the word, leaving himself completely exposed, but hearing the hiss of the tires was worth it. Watching the car sink lopsidedly was worth it. He had considered siphoning the gas too, but he'd have to get a long tube and suck it out himself, and he's not that stupid. He watches CSI Miami, and he knows you can catch on fire doing that.

He's walking back towards McKinley when Karofsky comes out. His younger brother isn't with him, and Finn knows that he can take each of them separately. He's still shaking like a leaf in a winter storm, but he's not about to turn and run away. That would give Karofsky something to tease him about and give him something to regret, and he was not about to do that.

"Hudson," Karofsky acknowledged that he was there, but he didn't make any comments about what had happened yesterday.

In retrospect, that was probably what had set Finn off.

While Karofsky strolled to his car as if nothing had happened, Finn was left frozen where he stood, turning and watching Karofsky go. It was like nothing had happened. This was everyday life for him. Getting away with stuff like that was normal for him.

Finn wasn't about to let that happen again.

Attacking from behind is like, the most embarrassing and cowardly and horrible thing anyone could ever do, but Finn wasn't exactly thinking clearly when he did it. He just made a wild lunge, grabbing the back of Karofsky's shirt and tugging him backwards. His other arm went around Karofsky's neck and he tightened his hold until he forced him to the ground.

"What the hell?" Karofsky was shouting, and Finn wanted him to shut up, so he let him go for a split second to land a blow to the side of his face, right below his ear. His arm went right back around Karofsky's throat.

"Listen to me," Finn's voice was deep and he sounded like Puck. "I want to tell you something."

"Shut up, Hudson," Karofsky tried to get a comment in, but Finn tightened his hold until he heard choking noises.

"No, you shut up," he shot back. "I know what you and your group have been doing to Kurt, and that ends right now. You are never going to touch my brother again. He's worth more than your whole family, and you put him through hell since he had the courage to be himself. That ends right here, right now. No more."

"What're you gonna do about it?" Karofsky managed to grunt out.

"I'll kick your ass," Finn told him. "And I'll get Puck and Matt and Jesse and Mike and Artie and Kurt to help. I think it'd do you some good to get kicked in the nuts by the kid you've raped."

"I didn't rape him!" Karofsky's voice sounded deadly.

"Close enough," Finn hissed, getting nice and close so he was right at Karofsky's ear.

When Dave Karofsky got home later that day, he had snapped at his mother to stop fussing, screamed at his father for no reason, and yelled at his brother for not sticking with him. Then he grabbed a package of frozen peas and held it to the rapidly forming bruises all over his face.

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_Requested by and dedicated to: **sjr**._


	3. Expulsion

It was a complete and total accident, getting the Karofsky brothers expelled.

Finn and Kurt hadn't told anyone else about what happened to them. It was just the two of them, and neither one of them were about to tell someone else. Their parents would just overreact, Carole hugging them close and crying while Burt went on a terrifying tirade about how much he hated Principal Figgins. (He and Figgins weren't friends.)

If they told Mr. Schue. he would probably force them to talk to Miss Pillsbury about it. They both liked her well enough, but they weren't exactly jumping with excitement at the idea of talking to her about this. And, knowing Mr. Schue, he'd probably get the news to Figgins somehow and make sure that both Karofskys were punished.

If they told any of the other members of glee, they knew word would get out. As much as they both loved Mercedes and Rachel – who were probably the first two they would tell – they knew that those girls had the biggest mouths of the club and that by the end of the week, the entire school would know.

So they kept their mouths shut and avoided the locker room at all costs, flinching whenever they saw one of the Karofsky brothers in the hallway the next day. Finn had to talk to Figgins about punching the younger of the two, but that conversation went relatively well. Figgins understood where he was coming from and he got off with double detention. No biggie.

But when Finn slashed the older Karofsky's tires and beat him to a pulp, Figgins wasn't so forgiving.

Finn had to go talk to Figgins again, and the principal had a very serious look on his face, not a hint of the sparkle in his eyes Finn had seen there the day before when he had been given detention.

"Mr. Hudson," Figgins' voice was businesslike and monotone, "it has come to my attention that you attacked Dave Karofsky in the parking lot yesterday, in addition to slashing his tires. Can you explain to me why you did this?"

"He deserved it!" Finn insisted, crossing his arms in front of his chest and scooting his chair away from Figgins' desk. He did not, under any circumstances, want to go into this with the principal. No way.

Figgins sighed heavily, saying, "First you punch his brother two days ago – and yes, I understand that you were provoked – and now you beat up the other one? Is there some reason, some hidden animosity, the three of you have for each other? Because unless you explain to me why they deserved it, I'm afraid I'll have to suspend you."

"Wait, what?" That got Finn sitting up straight and on the edge of his seat. "What for?"

"For bringing violence into McKinley!" Figgins insisted. "Mr. Hudson, you and Mr. Puckerman have both been given the benefit of the doubt in the past when you slashed the tires of those students from Carmel High, but I'm afraid that this time we cannot let it slide. I already had to convince Mr. Karofsky's parents not to press charges against you."

"I should be the one pressing charges," Finn muttered, crossing his arms again.

"Finn," Figgins tried his first name, "please, talk to me about this. You've been a very good student up until recently, only coming into my office once when you and Miss Berry used the Cheerios photocopier. I don't understand why someone like you would have turned into such a delinquent!"

_Oh, I don't know, maybe finding out my brother's been almost raped had something to do with it._

"Excuse me?" Figgins stood up, hands on his desk and his face draining of color. Seeing how he's a man of color, that's pretty impressive.

"Wait, was that out loud?" Finn hadn't meant to say that. He hadn't even been aware that he had said it. But the way Figgins was looking at him was proof enough that he had definitely said that out loud.

Finn slumped back in his chair again, covering his face with his hands. What happened now? He and Kurt had both agreed that telling someone would only make things worse, seeing how incompetent Figgins was when it came to proper punishment. All it would do was give both Karofskys another reason to beat them up. Or worse.

"Mr. Hudson, if something has happened to a member of your family at the hands of one of the two Karofskys, you need to tell me immediately," Figgins's voice was shaking and Finn could hear the dread. "If this is true, it is out of my hands. Those two may end up in juvenile court for doing something of that magnitude. But I cannot do anything to help you if you do not tell me what happened."

Finn started chewing on his lip. Figgins didn't know about his mom and Kurt's dad, so he didn't know that Finn was talking about Kurt. He could just shrug it all off and pretend it was nothing and Figgins would never know. After all, if Figgins didn't believe that it was a lie, all he'd have to do was look at Finn's file, realize he didn't have a brother, and it would all go away.

"Never mind," Finn's shoulders slumped.

"'Never mind'?" Figgins sounded angry. "Mr. Hudson, you cannot make an accusation like that and just pretend it doesn't exist. If you are lying to me to come up with an excuse for your behavior, this may move beyond suspension. I may have to have your parents come in so we can talk about other schooling options for you."

"You can't expel me!" Finn protested. "I didn't do anything wrong!"

"Punching a boy in the face, beating up his brother the next day after slashing his tires, then accusing one or both of attempted rape?" Figgins ticked them off on his fingers. "I'd say you've done quite a lot that would qualify as wrong. Tell me the truth now, or I'll have no choice."

And Finn can't get expelled. If he gets expelled, he won't be able to go to college and he'll live the rest of his life as a high school reject who works at a gas station and will never be worth anything. He won't be able to stay in glee club, and they need him for Regionals. He won't be there to protect Kurt anymore.

It's the last thought that finally gets him talking. And it wasn't just talking. It was word vomit. He told Figgins everything: how the entire glee club got ridiculed all day long for keeping silent, how Kurt almost got locked in a locker, how Rachel had her clothes stolen, how he had been taken into the locker room and how Karofsky had taken his pants off, how Kurt had been sexually harassed later that same day, how he and Kurt had talked about it and how they hadn't wanted to say anything because they were afraid. It all came spilling out in under five minutes, leaving Figgins with his mouth agape and tears in his eyes.

They sat in silence for a few seconds, Figgins dabbing at his eyes with a handkerchief, then blowing his nose loudly.

"I'm sorry, Finn," he said quietly. "I didn't know."

"And that's the problem!" Finn shouted, now on a tirade. "You never do anything useful! You just sit here in your office and act like stuff like using a photocopier is a big deal and you never noticed that Kurt was getting hurt every single day. You never did anything about it! Don't you understand? That's why we couldn't tell anyone about it. Because in the end, it comes down to our incompetent principal to fix things for us. But oh, wait, he's not going to because this school has a reputation and Karofsky's parents know how to get a lawyer. They'll make a fuss about it, so you'll let them off easy so you don't have to get into some great big legal battle over two kids who can't take a punch to the stomach. And then they'll be back at the school, with nothing to stop them from doing it again, and trust me, they'll do it again. They'll want to get us back for telling you."

Finn stopped for a second, breathing hard and wondering where all that had come from.

"I hope you remember that when you find one of us unconscious in the locker room," Finn snarled, standing up. "Or dead and tossed in the dumpster." He was being over dramatic and he knew it, but hey, he's learned a couple things from Rachel apart from how to carry a tune and walk at the same time. "Good bye, Principal Figgins. I can see you're not worth my time any longer."

And with that, Finn walked out of Figgins' office, breathing heavily and rapidly. He slumped against the wall, wondering if his principal is even going to bother following him.

After two minutes and no sign of Figgins, Finn decided that he was allowed to leave. He had been pulled out of lunch for this, so he headed back to the cafeteria. He needed to find Kurt and apologize before something bad happened.

Both he and Kurt are pulled out of their next class. Figgins tells them that if they want results, they need to cooperate. Kurt, who had told Finn that it was too late to back out now, decided for both of them that they are going to tell Figgins everything he wants to know.

They sat in Figgins' office for the rest of the day, writing down every little detail of what's happened to them while he watches. He even yelled at Coach Sylvester when she turned up and wanted to speak with him, and nobody yells at Coach Sylvester and gets away with it. Kurt took longer than Finn to write out what happened, but that made sense. He explained to Finn on the drive home that he'd written down everything that had happened to him since ninth grade.

The next day at school, Finn realized that the younger Karofsky wasn't in Spanish. He and Kurt looked for the brothers at lunch, but they didn't see them.

They were called back to Figgins' office again at the end of the day. Matt and Puck were already there, and Finn figured that Figgins had asked them to come in because they were the ones that had found and helped Kurt.

"I wanted you four to be the first to know, especially since this will affect all of you at some point in the future," Figgins started speaking after Kurt and Finn sat down. "I have expelled both Dave and Jake Karofsky from McKinley High School, but, as is the case in most of these situations, their parents wish to fight my decision. They say I'm being too harsh on their children and that I am ruining any future they may have, especially since it is nearing the end of Dave's senior year.

"Now, since their parents are trying to get me to change my mind, I need to go before the school board and present my case. This means that I need all four of you to be ready to explain what has happened and what you have seen to prove that expulsion is necessary in this situation. Since I cannot officially expel them until I have approval, they have been suspended until we can go before the school board."

Figgins paused for a few seconds, then started speaking again.

"Now, having read what all four of you have written, it is clear that you have just cause to take this further than the school board. You could press actual charges against both Dave and Jake, and they could end up in jail if the court sides with you. That's your decision, not mine. All I can do is see that they never set foot in this school again. After that, my hands are tied. It's out of my jurisdiction."

The four boys exchanged a glance. This was not the passive-aggressive Figgins they were used to. This was a Figgins who was determined and angry, probably downright pissed off that this had been going on in his school. He had finally grown a backbone and was sticking up for his students and his school.

"I would recommend that you talk it over amongst yourselves. Talk to your parents and see what they think. Just know that I am doing everything in my power to keep you safe."

After Figgins dismissed them, they decided to blow off glee rehearsal. They went out to the nearest Wendy's instead and started talking it all over while they are chocolate Frosties and french fries.

Puck said he doesn't care what they do. He's just glad that Figgins "finally grew a pair."

Matt told them that being expelled was almost too good for the Karofsky brothers. He wanted them to really pay for what they did.

Kurt decided that, at the very least, he will be taking out a restraining order against them. They still live in the same town, and while they can't set foot in McKinley again, they can still roam around the town as much as they want. Nothing would stop them from showing up at Kurt and Finn's house and really letting them have it.

Finn was too shocked that all this had happened to take part in the conversation. He just sat there, dipping his fries absentmindedly into his Frosty and thinking about how all this had happened because he had blurted something out completely by accident.

It was the best accident ever.

By the end of the month, both Dave and Jake Karofsky were officially expelled from McKinley High School. One of the members of the school board had all but shoved Finn and Kurt into the nearest police station, so they told the higher authorities about it too. It felt good to tell people about it.

Kurt was true to his word and he took out a restraining order against both brothers. He dragged Finn along too, insisting that he do the same. It felt really good after that was all settled, knowing that the Karofsky brothers couldn't come near them without serious consequences.

The Karofsky family left Lima a few days later. The family was running away from the shame.

Kurt decided for the both of them to let it go. They weren't going to insist that the family come back so their sons could be tried in juvenile court. When Finn asked why, Kurt just smiled sadly and said, "Because I know what it's like to be ashamed of who or what you are, and sometimes it's even harder for the parents. I know Mrs. Karofsky – she came round our garage for her annual car inspection – and she always struck up a conversation with me. She would ask me about school and we would talk together while my dad looked over her car."

"But what does that have to do with anything?" Finn asked, confused.

"She couldn't talk to either one of her sons like that," Kurt explained. "She never told me that outright, but I could tell. And she doesn't deserve this sort of pain, even if they do, and I know it'll hurt her more. I can't do that to her."

Finn agreed, and they let the Karofsky family leave Lima in peace.

* * *

_Prompted by and dedicated to: **Kudleycraze12321, ****ritagarcia45, ****tvspaz626, ****lizzyloula, ****tabby-tiger-demon,** and**************Nyx Nox Night.**_


	4. Emails

_Okay, so this chapter might be a bit of a letdown to the people that requested it, so hear me out first. Two people requested the outcome of Rachel's emails. At first, I was all 'Oooh, yay, I can write about them getting in touch with the organizers and maybe getting a real NOH8 shoot and they'll all be friends with unicorns and rainbows the end.' Then I realized that I'd be writing about real people, and that's where I draw the line. Sure, it'd be cute and innocent, but I don't do RPF. Sorry guys, I didn't even think about that before. I hope you enjoy this anyway!_

* * *

Rachel hadn't expected much to come out of her emails. She was probably one of hundreds of people that contacted them that day, so why would hers stick out? Sure, she was Rachel Berry and she was extremely talented and one day everyone would know her name, but they didn't know that. Yet.

It was nice, then, when she checked her email and saw a reply from the Day of Silence people. Grinning, she opened it.

_Hey Rachel! _

_Thanks for telling us about your day. Those were some beautiful pictures you three took. We're very happy to hear that you appreciate what we're doing. A lot of people misunderstand what we're doing and think we're being quiet because nobody wants to hear us, but you understand that we're being quiet to promote awareness and in remembrance. I'm sorry the kids at your school can't understand that._

_I don't usually get the chance to reply to emails simply because there are so many, but yours stuck out. I've never heard of Lima, Ohio, but from what you told me, it seems to be the type of place we really hope to reach out to. I strongly suggest you and your friends apply to our GLSEN Ambassador program. I can't guarantee you'll get in (we can only accept 16 students) but I think just applying would be a wonderful opportunity for you._

_Thank you, on behalf of all of us working hard to make Day of Silence a success._

The grin was still on Rachel's face when she finished reading. There was a link at the bottom of the email, so she clicked on it. It took her to a blog post about the GLSEN Ambassador program. She scanned the blog entry quickly, already knowing that she was most definitely going to apply.

But before she did, she copied the link and posted it to Kurt's facebook. This was something he would love to be a part of, and the idealist side of her was already picturing both of them snagging two spots. Highly unlikely, but she was Rachel Berry and Rachel Berry has dreams.

* * *

_Requested by and dedicated to: **ritagarcia45**_ _and **DMHPsasunaru.**_


	5. Confessions and Frozen Yogurt

_This will be the last update for a few days. My sister and I are going to New York, so I'll be without a computer for three days. Hopefully I'll be back by Thursday, but if not, the next part should be up by Friday at the latest.

* * *

_

It had been a week since Day of Silence, and Finn Hudson was in trouble.

Even though they no longer had the Karofsky brothers breathing down their necks, they still had Rachel. No that Finn was saying that Rachel was as bad as the brothers, but Regionals seemed even closer now that they had no other big days planned, and she was back to being her over-obsessed self.

She talked about Regionals constantly. It wasn't _too_ bad, at least not for him. Jesse had pulled the shortest straw in this arrangement, seeing how he and Rachel were practically inseparable. He got an earful about key changes and special shoes and stage dimensions daily.

But Finn was still their lead male vocalist, which meant he was spending extra time rehearsing some of their top choices with Rachel. It was a little weird because of how their previous relationship had ended, and because he still liked her – a lot – but it was nice. He liked hanging out with Rachel, just not when she went all crazy on him.

Unfortunately, that's how most of their practices started. Rachel would go on a rant that lasted at least five minutes about how the rest of the club wasn't pulling their weight. And Finn, who most definitely hadn't been physically capable of pulling his own weight since Day of Silence, would crumple in on himself.

The rest of the club still didn't know what had happened to him and Kurt. Well, except for Puck and Matt, but they weren't saying anything. None of them understood why Kurt suddenly wasn't vying for solos or why Finn offered the lead to Jesse more than usual. That meant that Rachel had no idea how much it hurt him to hear about how everyone was slacking off.

Yeah, he was definitely in trouble.

Because if he had to listen to that same tirade one more time…

"Rachel, shut up," he snapped, stopping her mid-sentence.

She frowned at him, mouth still open. Her hands went to her hips and she closed her mouth slowly. He really didn't like the way she was looking at him, but at least she wasn't talking anymore. But before he could get a word in, she started talking again.

"You're right. I shouldn't be ruining my voice by complaining this close to Regionals. I shouldn't be talking at all. It should just be practicing our songs and then no more speaking until the competition's over."

"No, that's not what I meant," he wasn't snapping at her this time, but there was a definite note of impatience in his voice.

"Then what's the problem?" she prompted. "We need to focus on glee, Finn. We can't be distracted."

"It's just," he fidgeted awkwardly, "it's kind of hard for me to listen to you going on and on about how the rest of the club has been slacking off when me and Kurt are the ones doing it."

"Oh," Rachel started twisting her hair between her fingers. "Right. But you know, you two really shouldn't be slacking off. I left your names out because I didn't want you to think I was attacking you personally."

"I get it. But please stop it, because I think it's making my physically ill."

"What's wrong?" she asked immediately. "I know you well enough to know that you're not the type to get down because of a little criticism. So what's the big deal?"

"I don't really want to talk about it," Finn told his shoes. That was only half-true, because part of him really wanted someone else to talk to. Someone outside the situation who wasn't connected to either side. But telling Rachel what had happened to him would mean telling Rachel what had happened to Kurt, and he knew that Kurt wasn't ready to talk to anyone else yet. It was bad enough having to talk to Figgins.

"Well then, if you don't want to tell me, it's not a big deal," Rachel decided.

"Wait, it's not a big deal?" Finn was sure he had heard wrong. "You're telling me that whatever's got me down this much isn't a big deal? It's a huge deal, Rachel. When was the last time something big happened to you? Something that you've never thought could ever happen to you? That's a ginormous deal. The biggest deal ever."

"Karofsky did something to you," Rachel was looking at him with the widest eyes he had ever seen. "That's why he's not in school anymore and that's why you and Kurt keep getting called to Figgins' office. Something happened on Day of Silence to both of you and you're both scared to tell anyone what happened because you're afraid that we'll all think less of you once you do. I knew it."

"Wait," Finn frowned. "What do you mean, you knew?"

"I knew something must have happened to you, and calling it no big deal was the only way I could think of to get you to admit it," Rachel shrugged. "I'd hoped you would have told me about it by now, but I understand that my relationship with Jesse has gotten in the way of our friendship, so I blame myself for that. I didn't want to trick you into telling me, Finn, but I knew something was bothering you the second you told me to shut up because you never snap at me like that. I hoped you would have blurted out more, but I can see now that you're too smart for that. So will you tell me?"

Finn took a moment to digest the monster of a paragraph Rachel had just thrown at him.

"It would be nice to talk to someone," Finn spoke slowly, not wanting to give her the wrong idea, "but it's kind of a… complicated thing. It's not just my business, it's Kurt's business, and Kurt doesn't let anyone know his business. So if I tell you, it's like I'm going behind Kurt's back about it."

"Then just tell me your part," Rachel sat down on the piano bench, facing away from the keys. "You don't have to tell me what happened to Kurt. Just tell me what happened to you."

Finn sat opposite Rachel on one of the plastic red chairs, looking at his lap. It would be nice to talk to someone, and he trusted Rachel. They were friends, even if he might still kind of really like her, and friends told each other about their problems, right?

"I won't think any less of you," Rachel told him quietly. "Day of Silence didn't go so well for me, either. It never does. And it's not you that should feel ashamed; it's them."

"I know that," Finn told his lap, "but it's still hard to talk about."

"Talk really fast," Rachel told him. "I know it sounds silly, but if you get it all out at once, it doesn't hurt as much. The relief comes sooner that way."

So Finn did just that. He vomited it all out faster than he had done in Figgins' office, pointedly not making eye contact. He told the whole story to his lap, wondering vaguely how many times his lap would hear this story. If his lap could talk, it probably would have yelled at him to shut up already, because seriously, it was beyond annoying hearing the same story over and over.

When he looked back up at Rachel, she was looking at him with those giant doe-eyes, her mouth slightly open and her hands twisting together in her lap. He didn't even realize just how short her skirt was, which proved that he really was more messed up than he had thought.

"Oh, _Finn_," her voice was so full of emotion he could practically see it coming out of her mouth. "I'm so, so sorry."

"Why? You didn't do anything."

"I know that," Rachel gave him a half-smile, "but that doesn't mean I can't be sorry that it happened. Nobody should have to go through that, especially not someone as admirable and selfless as you. I'm sorry that they couldn't see that, that they couldn't appreciate the strength and friendship and love that went into that day. For all of us, really. I'm just… so sorry."

Finn didn't say anything in response to that. He wasn't sure if he was even supposed to say something, but then Rachel came over and sat beside him and took one of his hands.

"If you ever need me for anything, just ask," she said. "I know you've got Kurt to talk to about all this, but if you ever need me, even just to do homework or go to the park or something silly like that, just let me know."

"Yeah, you too," his voice sounded hoarse. "Like you said, your day didn't go so well either. If you ever need something, you can ask me."

"Thanks, Finn," Rachel squeezed his hand then stood up, saying, "I think we should call it quits for the day. Want to go get a frozen yogurt?"

"Sure," Finn hopped up and followed Rachel out of the room, laughing as she started listing off all the reasons they shouldn't be eating frozen yogurt, which, according to her, just proved that they really did need some frozen yogurt.

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_Requested by and dedicated to **Tribbith.**_


	6. Church Picnic Shenanigans

_Okay, so I know I said I was writing these in the order I received them, but I loved this prompt too much to wait. So behold: struggling Christian!Kurt and church picnic shenanigans!_

* * *

Kurt's been going to church regularly for three years.

He used to go all the time when he was little. There was Vacation Bible School, Church Camp, Sunday School, and Church Choir. He and his mother and father were familiar faces at the Lima Reformed Church, and everyone there loved them to pieces.

After his mom died, his dad seemed to lose his way for a while. They stopped going to church and Kurt didn't get signed up for Vacation Bible school that summer. He didn't really mind all that much, because it had been getting kind of old. After a few months, Sunday was just like every other day of the week with nothing special happening and no freshly ironed dress pants lying over the ironing board.

Kurt didn't think anything of this new development until he turned thirteen. Suddenly people were telling him that he was becoming so grown up, that he was so mature for his age, that he dressed like a mini-businessman. He was expected to take on more responsibilities, and that reminded Kurt that church still existed.

He considered the pros and cons of going back to church for about a week. He knew he was gay and he knew that the church frowned on that, but he had some wonderful memories tied to that place. He still believed in God and Jesus, so maybe going back to church would give him the answers he was looking for: could he be gay and Christian at the same time?

So he started going back. Everyone he remembered was still there, and they all remembered him too. They asked him how he'd been and what he was up to and how school was going. They told him to say hello to his father for them. The pastor gave him a firm handshake and a warm smile after the service, telling him it was good to see him again. Kurt fell back into the church-on-Sundays routine and even snagged a spot in the choir again.

He's become a pretty established member of the church in those three years, but he's never told anyone the real reason he came back. He'd been hoping for answers, but he hadn't found any in the pastor's sermons. He tried going to different churches sometimes, thinking that maybe a different denomination would approach the subject more openly, but he never found answers there either.

Now he's frustrated, confused, and needs answers right this second. He stays after church one day and asks Pastor Dan if they can talk together about something important. Pastor Dan says of course they can, and before Kurt realizes that this is actually happening, he's sitting in Pastor Dan's office.

"What's going on, Kurt?" Pastor Dan asks. "You look worried."

"I am," Kurt admits, telling himself that he has nothing to be scared of. This man cares about him and is a man of God, so he'll know what to say. "I've been paying close attention to your sermons for a while now, and I've realized that there's one controversial topic you tend to stay away from."

It's the truth, because Pastor Dan has talked about everything from murder to incest to stealing to atheism, but he's never once mentioned homosexuality.

"And what topic would that be?" Pastor Dan asks, folding his fingers together neatly and leaning forward slightly.

"Homosexuality," Kurt says the word as if it would bite him. Pastor Dan's knuckles tighten and he shifts in his seat uncomfortably. Kurt looks and sounds apologetic when he adds, "I just wondered why you never brought it up."

"Do you think I should?" Pastor Dan asks, and his voice sounds strained. "Do you think there is a member of our church family who would benefit from such a sermon?"

"I believe it is good to be educated," Kurt treads carefully, not wanting to just blurt out, 'Yeah, me,' and be done with it. "We live in a very conservative town with only two openly gay men in our population, which leads me to believe that most people here don't fully understand what homosexuality is."

"What is there to understand?" Pastor Dan isn't responding as Kurt had hoped. "Homosexuality has a black and white definition and the Bible addresses it. What more does the church need to say?"

"The church needs to offer guidance," Kurt tries to keep his voice even. "I don't think anyone in our church community would know what to say if someone were to tell them they were gay. They wouldn't know how to spread God's message of love to someone who, in their eyes, goes against the Bible's teachings."

"Again, I have to ask: Do you think there is a member of our church family who would benefit from such a sermon?" Pastor Dan repeats his earlier question.

"Why does it matter?" Kurt's arguing with the man now. "Do you think someone in the church is suffering from incestuous feelings? Because you gave a sermon on incest a while back."

"Kurt, I think you are overreacting," Pastor Dan says gently, reaching out to put a hand on Kurt's shoulder. "All you need to know is what the Bible tells you. And don't let the wildly liberal agenda of the two openly gay men affect your belief in God. Don't let them pull you away from His word."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Kurt's eyes flash, wondering how Pastor Dan got to that conclusion.

"Well, questions like these don't just come from nowhere. Someone has to have told you extensively about their homosexual agenda, trying to steal you from the care of your Lord and Creator and embark on the pathway to Hell." Pastor Dan's brow furrows and he adds, "Never give in to temptation, Kurt."

Kurt can't help it. His eyes start watering and his lip quivers. His pastor just told him that he is doomed to Hell, just because he is attracted to members of the same sex. He's felt like that for as long as he can remember, so he knows how hard it is to try and trick himself into thinking that it's a choice.

"What's wrong, son?" Pastor Dan asks, handing him a tissue. "What's the problem?"

Kurt wipes his eyes hastily and practically wails, "I'm gay! I've never told anyone before because I thought if I pretended I wasn't, it would go away. I thought I could change myself, but I just can't! And now I don't know what to do because nobody in the church ever talks about it, and I need to know that it is possible to be Christian and gay at the same time! Tell me it's possible, please!"

Pastor Dan leans back in his seat, folding his hands together again. His lips are drawn in a thin line and Kurt really doesn't like the way he's looking at him.

"I think you should go, Kurt," he says finally.

"Excuse me?" Kurt is sure that he's heard wrong.

"You need to leave," Pastor Dan says shortly, standing up. "We can't have someone like you inside a house of God. It might… rub off on some of the children."

"Excuse me!" This time it comes out as an offended exclamation, not a question. Kurt stands up as well, tears gone from his eyes and a deep frown on his face.

"Allowing you to stay would be hypocrisy on my part, and I cannot lie to my family like that," Pastor Dan motions toward the door. "You need to leave Kurt. Please don't come back."

Kurt feels embarrassed and hurt and dirty, but he obeys and leaves Pastor Dan's office.

He doesn't tell his father what's wrong when he gets home, just stops going to church after that day. He decides that if Jesus doesn't want him, he doesn't want Jesus, and decides to be an atheist instead.

After he comes out to Mercedes and to his father, it's easy for Burt to put two and two together. He asks if Kurt wants him to go down to the Reformed Church and have a stern talking to with the pastor, but Kurt says no.

His discussion with Pastor Dan eventually comes up in conversation with his friends. Mercedes tries to convince him to come to her more liberal and accepting Baptist church, but Kurt says no. Rachel suggests that he come over to her house one night during Hanukah and see if it sparks any interest, but Kurt says no. Artie tells him that those suckers weren't worth his time anyway and gives him a fist bump.

Kurt decides he likes Artie's response the best.

After Day of Silence, a lot of the members of the club had talked to Kurt about their experiences and asked him if that's what his entire life had been like. He would casually mention his talk with Pastor Dan, acting like it was no big deal. He didn't think anyone bought it.

Then Mr. Schue announces that the Lima Reformed Church has asked if they will perform _Like a Prayer_ at their annual church picnic. Everybody agrees that it sounds like fun (the promise of free food helps too) and Mr. Schue passes them their sheet music. Kurt notices that he has a solo.

"I wanted to spread around the solos for this song," Mr. Schue explains. "I thought it would sound nice if Tina and Kurt alternated the main part while the rest of you harmonize."

Rachel doesn't even protest, probably because she's not looking forward to singing at a church. Kurt, while he's touched and happy that Mr. Schue decided to give him a solo, is dreading it. Pastor Dan told him not to come back, which basically was the equivalent of saying, "Jesus hates you."

But Kurt's a team player, so he just smiles along and practices the song and plans to come down with a sore throat on the day of the picnic. Rachel could take over his part and everything would go perfectly.

He didn't expect the entire club to (literally) corner him the day before.

"What's going on?" he asks, feeling very uncomfortable with the wall pressed against his back and twelve faces staring at him.

"We're supposed to sing at your old church tomorrow," Mercedes informs him.

"Yeah, I know," he says impatiently. "Can I go now?"

"No," Mercedes says it with a bite in her voice and Kurt wonders why she's so angry at him all of a sudden.

"Kurt, why didn't you tell us you used to go there?" Quinn asks him, her voice much calmer than Mercedes' tone.

"I didn't think it made a difference," Kurt shrugs. "So I might recognize a couple people. No big deal."

"But they're the ones that said all those horrible things to you," Rachel butts in. "You told us how cruel your pastor was when you went to him for guidance and for help. How can you act like it's nothing when clearly it's a big problem?"

"Technically, the rest of the church doesn't know I'm gay, so they never said anything," Kurt feels the need to point this out, because he really doesn't like the look on Puck's face.

"I almost torched the place when Quinn told me," Puck says, confirming Kurt's fears. He's almost touched, in a way, that Puck cared enough to get worked up about this. But he still doesn't understand what the big deal is, so he asks point blank:

"Will someone please explain why you've all cornered me in the hallway about this?"

"Because we want you to sing something else," Rachel is positively glowing. Finn looks like he's about to burst out laughing any second, and Kurt is kind of afraid for his life right now.

"You're going to sing _The Gay Agenda_ from the musical comedy _Bush is Bad_," Jesse steps forward and hands him a packet of sheet music. "It's kind of my guilty pleasure show."

Kurt flushes pink as he flips through the music and some of the lyrics stand out.

"We decided blunt and to the point was the best way to get our point across," Mercedes is grinning now. "Show those reformed idiots what your life's like and why they make it worse."

As much as Kurt doesn't want to be at the picnic at all, he has to admit that singing this song would lead to some completely hilarious results. The song is witty and funny and completely honest, and Kurt makes a mental note to ask Jesse about the actual musical later.

"We also thought it'd be funny if someone sang _Epiphany_ from _Altar Boyz_," Jesse holds up another packet of sheet music. "Any Catholics in the house?" Quinn holds out her hand expectantly. Jesse grins, saying, "Brilliant."

Kurt's not entirely sure how they're going to get away with all this, but he's too excited to worry about that now. He's got to go home and learn this new song.

He asks Finn about all this later that night. He wants to know just how long they've been planning this and who all was in on it.

"We all were," Finn tells him. "Mercedes was the first to put it all together and figure out that we'd be singing for the guy that kicked you out of a church because he's an asshole." Kurt laughs at that comment. "So she got us all together to brainstorm and the next thing we know, Jesse's shouting about Off-Broadway musicals and George W. Bush and how he's always wanted an excuse to use his guilty pleasure musical for a performance. We all thought it would be a nice change from Day of Silence, to put it all out in the open through song."

On the day of the picnic, Kurt doesn't come down with a sore throat. He gives his solo to Rachel anyway, knowing that she misses the spotlight even though it is for church. He keeps his head down for most of the day and stands in the back during _Like a Prayer._ Quinn sings _Epiphany_ once they've finished, catching everyone by surprise. At first nobody's quite sure how to react, but by the end she's getting some laughs and there's real applause.

When he steps forward to sing his song, there's some murmuring among the crowd. Mr. Schuester, who's obviously letting Quinn's solo slide since it was funny, sits up a little straighter. Pastor Dan, who's all the way in the back, actually stands up. It's clear that he recognizes Kurt.

"Hi, everyone," Kurt says as Quinn hands him the microphone. "I don't know how many of you remember me, but I'm Kurt Hummel. I used to come here a while back, but I stopped after Pastor Dan made it clear that I wasn't welcome." He locks eyes with the man, taking in his stern expression and grinning. The crowd is buzzing now and Mr. Schue looks torn as to what he should do.

"I'm gay," Kurt announces, and there are gasps and a couple women cover their children's ears. "Oh, get over it," Kurt sighs. "Just tell your kids it means I'm happy if that'll make you feel better. But I came to this church trying to find help. I needed someone to tell me that it's okay to feel this way and still want to have faith that God loves me, but Pastor Dan gave a kick towards the door instead. He was too afraid to help me because he doesn't understand who I am.

"So I'm going to sing about it."

"Shut up, queer!" someone yells, and Jesse steps forward. He launches into the beginning monologue of the song, winking at Kurt as he does so.

"Ah yes, hatred of gays," he begins, voice projecting to the crowd even without a microphone. "As we all know, homosexuals rank among the greatest threats to our society." His sarcasm is just slight enough that about half of the crowd actually buys it. Kurt can hear the rest of New Directions giggling behind the two of them, and he bites his tongue so he won't start laughing too. Instead he looks at Mr. Schue, who looks constipated.

"Here," Jesse indicates Kurt, "let's let one of," he paused, looking Kurt up and down, "_them_ spell it out." He steps back and Brad, who's over at the piano, begins playing. Kurt spares a moment to appreciate just how chill Brad must be if he's willing to go along with all of this.

He launches into the song, gesturing wildly and acting as flamboyantly gay as humanly possible. He throws his head back and skips around the stage, choosing one of the glee boys at random and pulling him forward, using him as a prop. It turns out to be Mike, who seems to be genuinely okay that Kurt's basically all over him.

It's controversial and funny and it keeps everyone still. Not a single person moves until the song is over, probably because things you don't understand are always fascinating. Nobody claps, they just sit there staring at Kurt and Mike. One little boy laughs, but his mother shushes him.

Mr. Schuester is the first one up and moving. He hurries them offstage, and when he makes to go back out, Rachel grabs his arm and says, "Mr. Schuester, don't you dare apologize on behalf of this club, because not one of us are sorry. Nothing anyone says will make us sorry."

Kurt beams at her.

Mr. Schue does go back onstage and says, "I should apologize for that, but… to be honest, you all probably deserved that. I hope we opened your eyes today and I hope you learned something. And if you can take one thing away from this, let it be this: never speak on behalf of a God who loves all of His children, no matter what."

Kurt's almost 95% sure that Mr. Schuester flips Pastor Dan off after he says that.

* * *

_Prompted by and dedicated to: **Callette.**_


	7. The Hudmel Men

"So, when were you two going to tell me about getting called in front of the school board for an expulsion case?"

Burt asked the question over a dinner of cold pizza as the three of them sat in the garage. It had been a good day for all three of them. Burt had finally reorganized his office while Kurt had taken control of the actual garage in his absence, and Finn had learned how to reset tires. All three of them felt accomplished and happy, and neither one of the boys had expected Burt to spring any questions like that on them.

But Burt was sneaky like that, so they probably should have seen it coming.

"Oh, that," Kurt tried to wave it away. "That was nothing, really. The two idiots that got expelled used to pick on me a lot, so they asked me to come and tell the school board about it. Finn played football with them, so they wanted to ask him about them too."

His dad wasn't buying it.

"Right, because they couldn't just have you write everything down and be done with it," he said, leaning back and resting against the wall. "Figgins called me earlier today to tell me to thank the pair of you for your bravery. Now, correct me if I'm wrong, but tattling on some bully isn't exactly what I'd call brave."

"They're just really, really bad guys," Finn supplied, nodding and taking a bite of pizza so he wouldn't have to say anything else.

"Right, which also explains why Figgins asked if I'd gotten you two professional help yet or if he should send a few phone numbers my way."

Kurt felt his face turn red. Finn choked on his pizza.

"Is there something you'd like to talk to me about?" Burt asked, looking from one boy to the other. "If those kids have done something serious to you, I want to help."

"It's nothing, Dad," Kurt tried again to act like it was no big deal. "Trust me, if it was that big of a problem, we'd have said something."

"Yeah, totally," Finn agreed. "I'm like, crap at keeping secrets, Burt, so you know I'd have blabbed by now."

"Ah-uh," Burt waggled a finger at them. "See, you boys are thinking you can fool me like you can fool your idiot principal. But I know you two better than that. Finn doesn't blab if it's important enough and Kurt, you're basically the ice king around here. It's like your afraid to let me in, buddy, and it's gotten worse ever since you two did that not-talking-for-a-day thing."

He paused, making eye contact with each of them in turn.

"So out with it," he ordered. "Tell me what's going on."

Kurt and Finn exchanged a glance. It was more than obvious that neither one of them wanted to be the one to speak first. Finn raised his pizza to his mouth and took a large bite determinedly, while Kurt started looking around the garage, as if for a distraction.

There was a full minute of silence before Burt broke it.

"I don't know which idea scares me more, the idea that you won't tell me or that you can't tell me. What can possibly be so bad that you boys can't share it with me?" He looked at Kurt, adding, "I am your father, and I love you. I want to keep you safe and do everything I can for you, so you need to stop protecting me. That's not your job."

"I know it's not," Kurt's eyes were spilling over, "but I can't help it, Dad. I don't want you to have to know about it."

Burt pulled his son into a rough, one-armed hug while Finn watched, chewing his too-big bite of pizza and shifting uncomfortably where he sat. He wasn't one for those touching father-son moments.

"You too," Burt told Finn as he let go of Kurt. "I know I'm not your dad, but I want to be there for you just like your dad would have wanted. So please let me help."

Kurt twists his fingers in his lap and said, "You'll go all Sweeney Todd on them if I tell you."

"I don't know who that is," Burt said seriously, "but I promise I won't. Unless you want me to." That got a short bark of laughter that looked more like a spasm out of Kurt.

"I have to ask a favor first," Finn interrupted. "Promise you won't tell my mom." Burt sat up a little straighter, as if to argue, but Finn cut him off. "No, seriously, if this is something I'm actually going to share with my mom, I want to do it on my own terms. I don't want her hearing it from someone else." Burt nodded, obviously understanding. "I'll tell her, I promise I will, I just don't think she can handle it yet."

"Okay," Burt nodded again. "Sure. That's perfectly understandable, of course."

"And I have a question first," Kurt looked his father straight in the eye. "Dad, I have to ask you something and I'm being perfectly serious. What is the most unforgiveable crime imaginable?"

Burt let out a low whistle as if by reflex.

"That's a tough question, Kurt," he shook his head. "A lot of horrible things come to mind, trying to find the answer, and it scares me that you felt the need to ask it right before you tell me what those kids have done to you." He looked from Finn back to Kurt. There was another pause, and then he answered.

"Pedophilia. And I'm not talking about just the desires and the feelings, I'm talking about acting on those urges. Taking something so pure and beautiful as a child and destroying that innocence with such perverse actions is completely unforgiveable." Burt smiled slightly, adding, "I guess that's what happens when you're a father. Any crime against a child seems that much worse, because you know that if you had been in the wrong place at the wrong time, that child might have been yours."

That comment was enough to push Kurt over the edge, and he started crying. The tears came and wouldn't stop, and he scooted over so he was sitting in his father's embrace, clinging to the other man's arms as if the ground was about to open up and swallow him. Finn just sat there, watching his brother and almost-step-father share one of those father-son moments he'd heard about all his life, feeling like an outsider who was intruding. But then Kurt reached out and grabbed his arm and pulled him in, and the three of them just clung to each other. They all cried for different reasons, unafraid to show emotion and knowing that the only thing keeping them there were the others' arms.

They finally let go of each other, and Kurt was the first to speak. He started telling Burt all about his daily dumpster dives, about the slushies and the name-calling and the pee balloons and everything else. His breath hitched when he got to the times he'd been cornered in the locker room, and Burt's face kept getting stonier and stonier the more he heard.

When Kurt finished, having told his father everything, he gave Finn a little nudge. The other boy picked up the story, telling Burt all about how he used to be the person who threw pee balloons, but he'd turned into the person who got taunted for the rumors that said he was banging his male Spanish teacher.

It was surprisingly easy, telling Burt about everything. In a way, it brought more relief than the expulsion had. It wasn't just a confession, it was a time for the three men in the family to bond, to show that they trusted each other.

It felt really, really good.

When they'd finished, Burt didn't say anything patronizing or inappropriate or unwelcome. He just looked at the pair of them and managed to squeak out, "My boys," before pulling them both back into another hug.

Burt didn't make them go to counseling. He didn't go all Sweeney Todd on the Karofsky family. He didn't overcompensate by making sure their every wish was granted. But he didn't act like it hadn't happened either.

He learned when to leave them alone and when to offer a listening ear. He learned how to avoid becoming a sap but still making sure his boys knew he cared. He learned that sometimes Kurt and Finn just needed to be with each other and that was his cue to let them eat the tube of raw cookie dough in peace. He learned that Finn liked to hit things when he was angry and that buying a punching bag was a very good investment indeed.

There was an unspoken agreement between the three of them that they were not going to mention it again unless one of them was having a particularly hard time dealing with it. It wasn't the same as avoiding the topic, it was allowing the topic to exist, but not obsess over it. Burt had taken the news exceedingly well, and he was doing everything he could for Kurt and Finn without being obvious about it.

He only brought it up once afterwards, and that was to remind Kurt and Finn that they needed to invite "that Puck kid" over for cake sometime.

* * *

_Requested by and dedicated to: **YoSafBridge, ****Calli Wall,** and******SpookyClaire.**_


	8. Kurt's Fake Boyfriend

"Hey, handsome!"

Kurt did a double take. Yes, that was Jesse St. James. Yes, he had shouted that down the hallway. And yes, he had been looking straight at Kurt when he yelled it.

But Jesse wasn't done there.

He had a big, dopey smile on his face and he was practically sashaying down the hallway. Kurt's face reddened and he wanted to hide behind his hands. The entire hallway was staring from Jesse to him and back again. This wasn't happening. There was no _way_ this was happening.

Jesse looped an arm through Kurt's when he reached him, grinning broadly as he began leading Kurt down the hallway.

"Jesse, what the hell are you doing?" Kurt hissed, still very aware that the entire hallway was staring at them.

"Relax," Jesse spoke through his smile. "I decided that, after yesterday, you deserve to have a doting boyfriend."

"But… you're straight," Kurt objected. "And dating Rachel. And," he pulled his arm free, "you're freaking Jesse St. James."

"Yep," Jesse winked. "And today I'm all yours."

"I get him back in one piece and without foreign body fluids on him first thing tomorrow," Rachel appeared out of nowhere, saying this as she passed.

Kurt pinched himself. It hurt.

"You might as well milk it for what it's worth," Jesse linked their arms again. "I want the rest of the school to know that Kurt Hummel can have any guy he wants. Because if you can bag me, everyone else is easy!"

"Turn the ego down, honestly," Kurt rolled his eyes. "I'd never go for someone so full of himself."

Jesse smirked.

"You're forgetting the principle of the matter," Jesse came to a halt beside Kurt's locker. "People are going to see you as a not-exactly-top-of-the-social-ladder sophomore on the arm of the stunningly gorgeous, senior, male lead. They will bask in the glow of our talent."

Kurt burst out laughing at that, unable to contain himself. He had to lean against his locker for support, all the while wondering how his life had become this crazy fairy tale-esque story. Only yesterday he had been the epitome of a damsel in distress – the only difference being the anatomy involved – and now here he was on the arm of a guy who was pretty much exactly like Prince Edward from _Enchanted_.

This wasn't his life.

Jesse carried his books and dropped him off at his first class. Jesse was there to pick him up when the period was over, and this continued throughout the day. They spent their free period in the choir room singing _I'll Cover You_ from _RENT_ while Rachel critiqued it. Jesse brought him his lunch and sat next to him in the cafeteria while the rest of the room openly stared at them.

"Does this mean Rahcel's single again?" Finn asked, leaning in close to Kurt and trying and failing to be subtle.

"No," Kurt told him. "Jesse just decided that being my boyfriend for a day would be a really good idea." He rolled his eyes, but he was kind of enjoying the attention. He wondered if this was what having a boyfriend really was like. He wouldn't expect any normal guy to walk him to every class or anything, but singing duets and eating lunch together was nice.

"So," Jesse decided to strike up conversation once they had both finished eating, "who's the lucky boy here you've got your eye on?"

Kurt was grateful he'd waited until he had finished eating, because he probably would have choked if Jesse had asked that while he had his mouth full. Instead he turned bright red and stammered out, "N-nobody."

"Come on," Jesse nudged him in the side. "I'm cool, remember? I can totally play detective for you and figure out if he's on the down low." He stuck out his hand, saying, "Lieutenant Frank Cioffi at your service."

"Who?" Kurt let Jesse shake his hand, but he raised an eyebrow as he did so.

"You've never seen _Curtains_?" Kurt shook his head. "Bummer. I hate it when musical theatre references go to waste. Remind me to have you listen to the music some time." Jesse then got a smirk on his face and he announced loudly, "I might even make you a mix CD expressing my undying love."

Kurt let his head drop to rest in his arms. There was no way this was actually happening. When he lifted his head, Jesse looked very proud of himself and he picked up exactly where the conversation had left off, "So there's nobody?"

"Nope," Kurt shook his head. "Nobody." Part of him missed the fun of secretly liking someone, but the other part of him kept screaming at him, "Remember how well that turned out last time, you idiot!"

"I can hook you up with someone if you want," Jesse offered. "A couple of the guys in Vocal Adrenaline are gay. It's a lot easier for them to be open about it too, since once you're in Vocal Adrenaline you're automatically popular."

"Wouldn't that be nice," Kurt commented sarcastically.

"No, but seriously, want me to introduce you to someone?" Jesse was giving him a once-over that made Kurt stiffen in his seat. "I thi-ink," he drew out the word, "you'd get on best with Danny. He's a junior and he's a pretty snazzy dresser."

"I'll think about it," Kurt conceded, because Jesse looked like he wasn't going to let this idea go until Kurt had a real boyfriend on his arm.

"Good," Jesse grinned, picking up their trays and marching back across the cafeteria to put them away. In his absence, Kurt noticed that Mike seemed to have been listening in on their conversation. The other boy quickly looked away when Kurt noticed.

Jesse continued his habit of dropping Kurt off at every class then picking him up afterwards throughout the entire day. When they got to glee practice, everyone seemed rather subdued. Kurt didn't blame them; he really wasn't in the mood to do anything productive either. If it hadn't been for Jesse acting as his boyfriend and therefore being a very helpful distraction, today probably would have ended up being just as bad as the day before.

* * *

_Requested by and dedicated to: **ChrystalMart, ****Finding the Pineapples, ****DMHPsasunaru, ****Quartzy and Sue, **and ******************ViolinFreak.**_


	9. Counseling

_So I started out writing this because I got this adorable image in my head of baby!Kurt sipping out of his mother's pop can with a straw, but about halfway through I realized that it would actually work with someone's prompt! So yay! Enjoy!_

_

* * *

_

"How are you feeling, Kurt?"

"Fine, I guess."

"Anything new or different this week?"

This, Kurt knew, had to be the worst part of telling Figgins. He and Finn had both been through a "traumatic experience," according to their superintendent, and she was now forcing them both to meet with Miss Pillsbury weekly to "monitor their progress."

He appreciated the gesture, but Miss Pillsbury was obviously uncomfortable thinking about students being abused in that manner, and that made things about ten times worse.

"Nope, nothing new or different, Miss Pillsbury."

Their meetings always went like this. She would ask how he was feeling and if anything significant had happened. He would say "fine," and "no," and then she would ask if there was anything he wanted to talk about.

"Is there anything you'd like to speak with me about today?"

"No thank you," he said, as always. Normally she would rattle on about the importance of conversation and communication for a while, then let him leave. But today, apparently, she had a new tactic.

"Let's talk about your family, okay?"

"Why?"

"Well, in addition to these new… developments at school, your family is changing," Miss Pillsbury leaned forward in her seat slightly. "Your father's dating again and Mrs. Hudson and Finn have moved in. That's a big change, Kurt. Why don't we talk about that a little?"

"There's not really anything to talk about," Kurt said honestly. "Them moving in was my idea in the first place. I love Carole and Finn's been a wonderful brother. My dad's happy and I'm happy. That's pretty much it."

"Okay, but why don't we go a little further back?" Miss Pillsbury prompted, a soft smile on her face. "Tell me about your mom."

Kurt's expression became rather fixed.

"She died when you were–"

"Eight," Kurt finished. "I was eight."

"And what do you remember about her?"

"Her perfume," Kurt didn't really want to talk about this, but Miss Pillsbury was nice enough, and it was better to just get it over with rather than sit in an uncomfortable silence. "Her dresser in Dad's room still smells like her. I remember her hair, too. Sometimes she let me brush it. I learned how to braid her hair on vacation. It went all the way down to her waist, so she always braided it to keep it out of her face."

A small laugh escaped him.

"She always loved family picnics," he remembered. "We had a lot of those, or used to, anyway. We'd grill out hot dogs and hamburgers and she's always help my grandma in the kitchen with corn on the cob and a salad. It was always the same food, but it was good food so nobody cared. I remember we would all drink pop out of cans and she'd let me take a sip out of hers with a straw. I didn't really have a taste for it then, but I always wanted a sip because it was hers."

When had he started crying? Miss Pillsbury handed him a tissue.

"How do you think she would feel, right now, knowing what you've been through?"

Kurt laughed thickly and said, "She'd probably smack Dad across the face and ask him why I wasn't pulled out to be homeschooled."

"Do you think it would have been better if you were homeschooled?"

"No way," Kurt shook his head. "I mean, sure, life at McKinley isn't easy, but it's still fun. I have friends… and now a brother. It's good."

"Good," Miss Pillsbury nodded. "Very good." A pause, then, "How has her death affected you and how you interact with others?"

Oh, so they were playing that game again. Kurt scowled, saying, "My guidance counselor in elementary school said it made me uncooperative and unnecessarily sarcastic, which was basically his way of calling a nine year old a bitch." Miss Pillsbury stiffened at his use of the word, but he continued. "I think it made me wary of connecting with others because I didn't want to lose them. Cattiness was my way around it." He laughed darkly, adding, "Being gay probably helped keep people away, too."

"Would your mother have been as accepting as your father?" Miss Pillsbury pressed for more, eyes kind and wondering.

"Yes," Kurt said without hesitation. "They both probably knew before I did, and Mom always let me be her special little boy, no matter how many times Grandpa told her she needed to let me hang out with the guys."

"How would she have reacted to what's happened here?"

"She would have gone all Mama Bear on their asses," Kurt grinned, "cause nobody messes with her special little boy."

"And how are you feeling, right now?"

"I feel like… I want a root beer with a straw."

* * *

_Requested by and dedicated to **KND-15.**_


	10. Telling the Parents

"Hey, Dad," Artie came to a halt beside his father's armchair, "Mr. Schue wanted all of us to tell our parents about this thing we're doing tomorrow."

Mr. Abrams took off his glasses and set aside the notebook he was writing in, pausing the TV as well. Artie could still remember the first time they'd realized pausing television was possible with all this new technology (there had been much remote-tossing and pausing of live news).

"Shoot," his dad said, grinning.

"Um, so there's this thing called Day of Silence where we're quiet for a day, obviously, and it's to promote awareness about LGBT rights." Artie got the last part out in one breath, saying it so quickly that he hoped his father missed it.

His father hadn't missed it.

"It's for the one kid in your club, right?" He frowned, obviously trying to remember which glee kid was which from their invitational earlier in the year. "Kurt, wasn't it?"

"Well, yeah, I guess," Artie nodded briefly. "He does it on his own, so Schue thought it'd be cool if the rest of us did it with him."

"Fine by me," Artie's dad put his glasses back on. "It's nice that you kids are sticking up for each other like that."

* * *

"Brittany, hon, why is there a piece of paper pinned to your shirt?"

"Huh?" Brittany looked down at her front, surprised to see that there was, in fact, a sheet of paper pinned there. She frowned, trying to remember how it had gotten there.

"Oh yeah!" she looked up, grinning massively and ripping the paper off. "It's from Mr. Schue. I'm supposed to show it to you." She beamed, adding proudly, "I pinned it to my shirt so I wouldn't forget."

"That's nice, dear," Brittany's mom took the paper and glanced over it, a frown crossing over her face. She leaned in close to Brittany's dad, and the pair of them whispered together for a minute. Brittany looked from one to the other, confused as to what the big secret was.

"It says here that you won't be speaking for a day as a way to bring to light the unequal rights and treatment received by homosexuals," Brittany's mom expression looked as if she had been sucking on a lemon. "Are you sure that's a good idea?"

"Oh, I don't have to not talk," Brittany assured her. "I can talk, I just have to be quiet. It's called Day of Silence for a reason."

Her parents exchanged an exasperated look, but said nothing.

* * *

"Hey Mom, can I talk to you for a sec?"

"Of course," Carole was already sitting at the kitchen table, so Finn sat down opposite her. "What's up, hon?"

"Did you hear about the Day of Silence thing yet?" Finn asked, not knowing if Burt would have mentioned it for whatever reason.

"No, I haven't," Carole folded her hands together and leaned in closer, obviously interested. "What's it about?"

"It's this thing Kurt's been doing for a while, like, to show people just how shitty–"

"Language," his mother interrupted.

"Sorry," Finn felt his face heat up. "I mean, to show just how rough people like Kurt have it. Gay people, I mean. We're supposed to keep quiet for a day because of that."

"Who's we?" Carole asked, and Finn realized he'd forgotten to tell her what Mr. Schue had said.

"Oh yeah, Mr. Schue thinks it'd be cool if we'd all do it with him. Team spirit or something, you know?"

"Do I need to sign a permission slip or something?"

"No, Schue just said it'd be a good idea to talk about it with our parents."

"He's a smart one, this Mr. Schuester," Carole was nodding, "and I'm not trying to talk you out of doing it, but I want you to tell me why you're doing it. And don't say because Mr. Schue told you to, because that's not a reason."

"Well, Kurt and Rachel both seem really into it," Finn shifted in his seat, "and they're my friends, and friends help each other out. And it'd be good for team bonding with the rest of the glee club. And Kurt would like it if I did it too, and he's basically my brother, and family comes first."

"He is basically your brother," Carole said thoughtfully. "I think it's wonderful you think of him in that way already."

"Kurt's cool," Finn agreed. "I like being his almost-brother."

"And I like being his almost-step-mother," Carole grinned. "I'm really proud of you for wanting to do this for him."

Finn returned the grin.

"You do know the rest of the basketball team will give you a load of crap about this, right?" Carole raised one eyebrow. Finn shrugged, saying, "Yeah. Can't be worse than what they've done before, though. I'm good."

* * *

Jesse had never been close with his parents, and he wasn't exactly buddy-buddy with his aunt and uncle either. So when Mr. Schuester had told them to talk about Day of Silence with their "parents or guardians" (looking pointedly at Jesse when he said the latter), Jesse had restrained himself with difficulty from rolling his eyes.

Instead, he called up his friend Danny from Vocal Adrenaline. Danny did Day of Silence every year, along with the two other gay guys and the one lesbian in VA. The four of them always hung out the night before, so Jesse wasn't surprised when Danny's phone went to voicemail. They were probably busy doing whatever it was they do the night before stuff like this.

"Hey Danny, it's Jesse," he began leaving a message. "I just wanted to let you know that I'm doing Day of Silence tomorrow. So I'll be thinking of you and Jason and Livvy and Sean a lot tomorrow. And I was thinking that maybe sometime me and Rachel and Kurt could all get together with the four of you. I think you'd all get on pretty well." A pause, then, "Okay, I'll talk to you later. Good luck tomorrow. Bye."

* * *

Matt avoided his mother's gaze at the dinner table that night. She had this annoying habit of figuring out when he was hiding something, then asking him point blank to share. He didn't exactly want to blurt out what was going on in front of his little brother, so he kept his head down and didn't say much.

He hid out in his room for most of the night. He'd never talked with his mom about gay rights or having a gay friend, so he didn't know how she felt about everything. She might be the most accepting person ever, or she might scream at him to go to church and confess his sins.

So he didn't say anything.

* * *

It was always loud at the Jones family's dinner table. Everyone in the family always had about sixteen stories to tell and the family as a whole had the worst conversation ADD ever, which leads to tangents and shouting and realizing after five minutes that nobody's listening to you.

So when Mercedes bellowed, "By the way, glee club's doing Day of Silence tomorrow and it's for LGBT rights," and her father shouted back, "That's nice, sweetie. Bring mace," she considered herself lucky.

When her younger brother turned to her and said, "That's not right, the alphabet goes like this," and sang the alphabet for her, she couldn't help but laugh.

* * *

Mike didn't trust his parents to take the news of Day of Silence well, so he didn't tell them about it. It had been bad enough when he had joined the ballet club last year and his parents had threatened to disown him. The only reason they hadn't followed through (or at least grounded him) was because he'd joined the football team on the same day, and that news had made them forget all about it.

Instead, he told them all about the history project he was working on and how excited he was for the next soccer match on Saturday.

* * *

There was no way in hell Noah Puckerman was going to tell his mother about Day of Silence.

She was already messed up enough, dealing with the fact that he had a pregnant, non-Jewish sort-of-girlfriend living with them. Quinn looked as if she wanted to bring it up in conversation, but Puck sent her silencing glances whenever she got started on glee club.

They talked about it with each other instead, basically trying to convince each other that it was a good idea. Besides, Puck is a complete badass and nobody messes with him, silent or shouting.

* * *

Quinn almost called her father out of spite.

"Hi Dad, I just wanted to call to let you know that I'm still pregnant, I'm living with Noah Puckerman – yes, the one with the Mohawk – and that I'll be participating in day of Silence tomorrow. And it's not the one dealing with abortion, this is the one that helps out the gay community. Just wanted you to know what I've amounted to without your guidance."

She never even dialed the number. Instead, she wrote down what she wanted to say and forced herself to keep reading it until it made her cry.

* * *

"It's tomorrow! It's tomorrow!"

While it wasn't exactly a cause for a celebration, the Berry household liked to pretend it was. The cast recording of _La Cage Aux Folles_ was blasting through the house, and Rachel and her dads were decked out in rainbows, dancing around and singing along.

"And all my friends are doing it too!" Rachel told her dads proudly. "Including Jesse!" She was positively glowing.

Her dads agreed that Jesse sounded like a nice boy and that she should bring him around for dinner sometime. Then they broke out the sidewalk chalk and decorated their entire driveway with rainbows.

* * *

Santana knew it would be a stupid idea to tell her parents about Day of Silence.

They were the kind of people that argued with the television any time a Democratic representative started speaking, regardless of what he or she was saying. They thought President Obama should get run over by a tractor and asked her every single day if "that gay kid in glee club" was becoming a negative influence. They refused to watch her cheerleading and told her that, in their presence, she would wear appropriate clothing.

In retrospect, that's probably why she was so aware of her sexuality and why she was so open to sex in general. Teenage rebellion in its purest form.

She could have told them about it and done it to spite them, but she's not ready to get kicked out of the house yet. She's saving her grand "Hey guess what I'm bisexual and not a virgin" speech for after graduation.

* * *

Tina wished she could talk to her parents about Day of Silence. She wished she could tell them about a lot of things, but they weren't really the talking kind of parents. They were the, "don't get in trouble and don't bother us with your problems" kind of parents.

Besides, if her mother wouldn't even let her read or watch _Twilight_ (not that she had any desire to after listening to Kurt's seven minute rant about how terrible it was), there was no way her parents would be okay with Day of Silence.

So she kept quiet and went about her own business instead.

* * *

"Hey Dad?"

"Yeah Kurt?"

"It's Day of Silence tomorrow. Again."

"Cool."

"The rest of the glee club is doing it with me."

"Probably the first good decision Schuester's made all year. That'll be nice, not being just you."

"Yeah. So, um, you know how it all goes from here."

"Yep."

"G'night, Dad."

"Night, Kurt."

* * *

_Requested by and dedicated to **MysteryMisti2.**_


	11. Wanna see a musical?

_So a lot of people requested Mike/Kurt, in both the friendship and romantic relationship sense, so for this one I will tell you this: interpret it as you like. I've got plans for these two, so there will be more to come. And sorry for the wait!_

_

* * *

_

It took Kurt two days to talk Mike into performing the dance in front of the rest of the club.

Mike had confessed that he had been planning on doing it in front of the rest of the club on Day of Silence, but obviously that hadn't worked since Kurt hadn't been there. But this was different, he argued. It wasn't like they could do this song for a competition or anything. There wasn't any singing; it was just dancing. He'd feel like a complete show off.

Kurt assured him that he wouldn't, and before he knew it, a very stubborn Matt was pushing him in front of the rest of the group.

His face flushed before he'd even started dancing. It still felt like showing off, even though Kurt and Matt and Mercedes had all assured him it wasn't. He allowed the familiar music to lull him back into the mindset he'd had the first time around, launching into the sequence and not paying attention to the confused look on Rachel's face.

Everyone clapped when he had finished, though a couple people still looked confused.

"That was incredible, Mike," Mr. Schuester offered, smiling broadly. "Very different from your usual style. Did it have any significance?"

Mike noticed Kurt mouth the last sentence along with Mr. Schue and knew he had said something. He managed to keep himself from rolling his eyes, but just barely.

"Yeah, I put it together the day before Day of Silence," he didn't make eye contact with anyone as he spoke, deciding to focus on the back wall instead. "I wanted to find a song that expressed the feelings that came along with the day, and this song just fit."

"It was beautiful," Mr. Schuester nodded, gesturing for Mike to return to his seat. "Thank you for sharing it with us."

Either Kurt had given Mr. Schue a warning way ahead of time or he was a quick thinker, because their teacher suddenly launched into a speech about the importance of non-verbal communication, ending the lecture with their assignment. They were each to find a song without lyrics and either write lyrics that fit with it or choreograph a dance to it. It was the kind of assignment Mike could do in his sleep.

He left glee practice feeling extremely confident with this next assignment, doing a couple impromptu moves over to his locker. He was searching for his math book when he heard Kurt's voice coming from behind him.

"I never asked you how you found that movie."

Mike turned, book in hand and closing his locker behind him. "What do you mean?" he asked, starting off towards the school's parking lot.

"The movie the song was from," Kurt elaborated. "_Were the World Mine_. Don't take this the wrong way, but it's the kind of movie I'd expect Rachel's dads to know about, not you. So how'd you find it?"

"It started with google and then it kind of ended with clicking a lot of random links until I got to the movie's website," Mike honestly couldn't remember how exactly he'd found it. "I was looking for a song, obviously, but I didn't really have anything of my own that fit. So I think I started looking for musicals. Or something."

"The internet works in strange ways," Kurt smiled at him knowingly. "I'm glad you found it. Your dancing was much better than any of the stuff in the actual movie."

"Thanks," Mike's stomach turned over. He's used to getting compliments on his dancing, but never from someone as picky as Kurt. It was unexpected and nice and a little nerve-wracking at the same time. But he'd worry about that last part later.

"And I never really thanked you properly for it," Kurt said as they walked down the steps outside. "It really means a lot to me that you'd make a dance all for Day of Silence." Mike noticed that Kurt's cheeks were tinged pink. "Anyway, there's this musical playing in Akron in two weeks, and my dad got me tickets. I mean, I totally get it if you don't want to go. Musicals aren't really most people's thing and I get that around here the second you go to a musical you're automatically gay and anyone who found out about it would probably think it's, like, a date or something so I totally understand if you don't want to."

He got all that out in one breath.

"But I have two tickets and I figured I'd offer anyway." Kurt was pointedly looking at the parking lot and not at him, but Mike still noticed how red his cheeks were.

"That sounds like fun," Mike said, smiling and catching Kurt completely by surprise. "What show?"

"A-A Chorus Line," Kurt stammers on the first letter, probably because he expected Mike to turn down the offer. "It's about, well, a chorus line. Of dancers. So I thought you might like it."

"Yeah, I think I've heard of it," Mike nodded. "That'd be great. I'd love to go."

Kurt finally turned to look at him and Mike realized the other boy's face was completely red.

"Great," Kurt sounded relieved. "My dad got the tickets for next Saturday in the evening. Is that okay?"

"Yep, sounds great," Mike nodded again.

"Great," Kurt repeated. "So, I guess we'll figure out the details between now and then?"

"Perfect," Mike decided to switch it up and not say 'great' again. "Yeah, we'll talk." They'd reached Kurt's car and the smaller boy was slowly edging towards it. Mike spared them the awkwardness of figuring out how to end the conversation by saying, "I'll see you tomorrow," and raising his hand in a small wave.

"See you," Kurt echoed.

Mike grinned as he continued to his car, even though he was trying to tell his stomach to stop celebrating, because going to a musical with Kurt wasn't _that_ exciting.

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_Requested by and dedicated to: **DisappearanceOfAdalia, ****Quartzy and Sue, ****Bdoing, ****Kristen36, ****Daydreaming Nightwalker, ****nycRENTgirl,** and**********************Zafira.**_


	12. Puck gets Cake

"So, um, why am I here again?"

Puck was sitting at the head of the Hudmel kitchen table, Burt standing behind him and beaming like he'd just been told he won the lottery. Finn and Kurt were each sitting on either side of Puck, smiling awkwardly and trying not to look as uncomfortable as they felt.

"Because," Burt clapped Puck on the shoulders, making him flinch, "I want to thank you."

"Okay…"Puck raised an eyebrow, looking at Finn for clarification. Finn just smiled wider.

"I want to thank you for what you did for Kurt," Burt walked around so he was facing Puck, looking him in the eye and making the teenager feel very uncomfortable. "You stuck up for him when those two complete assholes were about to beat him up."

Hearing Burt call the two Karofskys 'assholes' seemed to break the tension. Kurt laughed weakly and Finn's smile was abruptly more genuine. Puck smirked, saying, "Nobody messes with one of my friends and gets away with it."

Kurt was half expecting his dad's smile to start producing puppies, he looked so happy.

"Well, I hope you like cake," Burt said, walking over to the refrigerator and pulling out a two-layer cake with chocolate icing that said "Thank you" in green icing. Kurt and Carole had made it the day before after Burt had nearly exploded the oven when he attempted to do it himself.

"Whoa," Puck's eyes widened as the cake was set in front of him. "This is awesome. Thanks, man."

They put Kurt in charge of cutting the cake once it became obvious that Burt's cake-cutting skills were about even with his cake-baking skills. Kurt cut each of them generous slices, laughing as Puck and Finn practically shoved their faces into their pieces.

"This is so good," Puck said thickly, fingers stained with icing. Kurt laughed as Finn nodded his agreement.

He wasn't quite sure how they managed it, but after they'd finished eating and boxed up the rest of the cake for Puck to take home, they'd ended up sitting in front of the television, watching a basketball game. And Kurt hated basketball.

But it was kind of cool watching his dad and his brother and his… friend freak out whenever someone made a basket. He supposed this was what he looked like whenever someone got kicked off of Project Runway or America's Next Top Model.

"So what are your plans for the summer, Puck?" Burt asked during a pause in the game.

"I dunno," Puck shrugged noncommittally. "Football camp, maybe, if Mom says I can still go." He and Finn exchanged a fist-bump. "And how much longer do we have to work at Sheetz 'n' Things?"

"According to Rachel's calculations, we have about five years and three months," Finn said sadly. "But she said that was on minimum wage and that we'd probably get promoted and start earning more."

Puck groaned, slumping in his seat.

"Why do you have to work at Sheetz 'n' Things for five years?" Burt asked. "Saving up for something special?"

"No," Kurt answers for them, "these two just got it into their heads that it would be a brilliant idea to slash the tires of all of Vocal Adrenaline's cars. Now they're working to raise enough money to pay for new tires."

"If you kids need a better-paying job, there's always room at the garage," Burt offered. "How much do you know about cars, Puck? I've already started teaching Finn the basics."

It's funny how much can change over the course of a year. Back in the fall, Kurt would have bodily forced Puck out of the room if his dad had so much as mentioned needing new employees. But now he thinks it's a great idea. Burt pays his employees well and then there's the added bonus of all the car knowledge that comes with working in a garage. This will definitely help them raise the money.

And Puck does know what he's doing, as it turns out. He and Finn start working at the garage after school on days they don't have glee or basketball, and Kurt has to admit that he likes having them around. He won't say it out loud, but he also likes that they report to him if Burt has to take a break or go back to his office.

Puck pulls him aside on a slow day and pointedly asks him to help find something in the back room. Kurt immediately realizes that Puck doesn't need help at all and that he probably has an embarrassing question or something and he doesn't want to ask it in front of Finn. So he excuses himself, tells Finn to shout if something happens, and goes with Puck.

"I'm sorry," Puck starts speaking as soon as Kurt shuts the door, catching him completely by surprise.

"Come again?" Kurt raises an eyebrow, hands on his hips.

"I'm sorry," Puck repeats. "I'm sorry for all the shit I put you through before glee. And before Day of Silence."

"Oh," is all Kurt can say.

"I've been a complete asshole to you for so long and it took Karofsky and his idiot brother beating you up for me to realize just how wrong it all was," Puck is looking at the floor, obviously uncomfortable with apologies. "And I know that I should have stopped it all way before it got that far. So I'm sorry. You've had a ton of shit thrown at you and I'm really sorry that I was ever a part of it."

"Thank you, Noah," Kurt uses his first name to emphasize just how much this means to him. "I appreciate it."

"So, we cool?" Puck holds out his hand, and Kurt shakes it, squeezing firmly.

"We've been cool for a while," Kurt admits.

"Cool," Puck echoes. "Now let's go back out before Finn blows something up."

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_Requested by and dedicated to: **muse127, ****Quartzy and Sue, ****Mystic Bunny Eats You,** and**********BananaBat16.**_


	13. Super Mom

_Hey all, I just wanted to drop a quick note about requests. A couple people recently left reviews and it sounded like they wanted to request something, but figured that I'd either already done it or it was too late. I just want to let you all know that, as long as you have reviewed before, it is not too late to request something. I'm always up for new ideas._

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Carole Hudson doesn't take shit from anybody.

She's learned the hard way that you're going to meet about ten assholes to every angel in your life. The idiot she dated before meeting her future husband, her college roommate freshman year, her old boss back when he was just a receptionist, and the close-minded woman who seemed to always be working at the grocery store when she was there were just four that happened to stick out as the worst.

But each one of them had taught her a valuable lesson, four lessons that she hopes to instill in Finn's everyday life.

Number one: Never let someone pressure you into something you don't want. (He'd had his hand up her skirt before she hit the panic button and remembered the cross around her neck.)

Number two: Passivity never works. (After almost two straight weeks of being sexiled and shrugging it off, it took her failing grade in chemistry for her to realize what the problem was.)

Number three: There are no erasers in life. (Talking shit about your boss to the man offering you a promotion was probably the stupidest thing she'd done in a long time.)

Number four: Family is worth everything. (Because no checkout lady gossips about her boys and gets away with it.)

So it's no surprise that Carole doesn't get much headway at work on Day of Silence. She's too worried about her boys (because Kurt _is_ one of her boys) to care about where she filed last month's progress charts or how many copies of that spreadsheet she sent to the printer.

Her boss sends her home at lunchtime and tells her to get a good night's sleep.

It's almost worse at home because there's nothing to do. Sure, Burt's garage is right next door so she could pop over and talk to him whenever she wants, but he's probably having a hard time too, and Carole doesn't want to distract him. She wanders around the house instead, cleaning the furniture with Windex and vacuuming the tile floors.

She counts down the hours, then half hours, then quarter hours until her boys get home. They might have glee practice today, too, but she hopes Mr. Schuester has enough sense not to keep the kids too long. Burt's not fond of the man, and while Finn's had better experiences with the Spanish teacher than Kurt, Carole has to admit that she doesn't think Schue's the brightest crayon in the box either.

Finn's told her all about the idiots on the football team and, by extension, on the basketball team. She doesn't like that he hangs around with boys like that, and therefore almost broke into song when he joined glee and made some decent friends. She likes Rachel, even though she's only met the girl once, and is very proud of Finn whenever he tells her about a new solo or a project they're working on. She met Kurt when Finn had him over to work on some glee assignment they'd been partnered up for, and Carole had taken an immediate liking to the boy.

Her fondness for Kurt had been what had drawn her to Burt initially. While he certainly was a charming man, she knew that he had to be a wonderful father if he'd brought up someone like Kurt. Family comes first, as she always says, and Burt is the kind of man that has always put Kurt above himself. That much had been clear when Burt came to her in a panic, explaining the situation about Kurt and Finn's room and saying guiltily, "I kind of kicked Finn out."

She had almost gone all SuperMom on him in Finn's defense, but since she didn't know anything about the situation and trusted Burt's judgment, she had just nodded and said, "It's probably too soon to move in, anyway."

But now here she is, walking around Burt and Kurt's house like it's her own. And it kind of is, now that Finn's moved in with Kurt downstairs – properly this time – and she's living in the guest bedroom upstairs (because Burt's a gentleman like that and neither one of them are quite ready to go _that_ far yet). She's no longer a single mother raising a teenage son. She's the mother of two wonderful young men and she's in a relationship with a man that loves and respects her.

And so what if one of those young men happens to be gay?

Carole has attempted to make friends with Finn's friends' parents before. She and Mrs. Rutherford had got on pretty well, and Judy Fabray had been shockingly sweet to her when they had met at Quinn's pre-homecoming party. Mrs. Puckerman had almost been a default friend, seeing how Finn and Noah spent so much of their time at each other's houses.

Since her relationship with Burt had started, quite a few of these quasi-friendships had changed. She was no longer invited to gatherings and Mrs. Rutherford avoided saying hello in the supermarket. She had asked Mrs. Puckerman about it, wondering what was wrong with everyone, and the woman had told her about Kurt.

"Burt's always been an iffy one as far as the women of Lima are concerned," she told Carole. "Sure, he's a good man and he's got the best garage on this side of Ohio, but people talk about that son of his. People wonder if a good father would have let his son grow up to be gay."

Carole had a tirade that would have made Mrs. Puckerman eat her words on the tip of her tongue, but the other woman waved her hands, saying quickly, "Not that I agree with them, of course!" The conversation that followed had revealed that while Mrs. Puckerman wasn't going to head out to the next marriage equality rally, she wasn't about to get all "preachy like those crazy Christians" either.

So it would be an understatement to say that Carole is extremely proud of both of her boys for what they're doing today. She's worried, of course, but she's still proud.

Finn comes home about five seconds after she checked the clock for what had to be the twentieth time that day.

"Finn, honey?" she calls, making her way towards the door.

Her son is standing there, all six-plus feet of him, but right now he resembles the little boy she used to rock to sleep at night. His shoulders are slumped, he has a band-aid on his chin, and his face looks worn and tired.

"Oh, _sweetie_." She can tell he's seconds away from a complete breakdown. His backpack falls to the floor with a soft thud and he hits the floor after it, arms wrapping around his knees and curling up into a ball.

She crouches down beside him, putting a hand on his shoulder and holding on tightly, letting him know that it's okay. He's allowed to be upset; he's allowed to feel sad; he's allowed to cry.

But Carole Hudson doesn't take shit from anybody, so she _will_ be getting to the bottom of this sooner or later.

Finn just kind of falls into her, face resting in the crook of her neck and his arms reaching out for her. She pulls him closer, holding him tightly and wordlessly telling him that she loves him and wants to protect him and that the people who made him feel like this are _so totally going down._

"Come on," she says when his breathing normalizes, "let's get out of here. Give Kurt and Burt the house tonight." She holds his hand and helps him up, leading him out the door and into her car. Finn pauses to grab a notebook, and she feels a surge of pride. Even though something's clearly bothering him and it would probably do him a world of good to open his mouth and say something, he's taking this commitment seriously.

They just drive around aimlessly for a while. They pass the church they used to go to every Sunday. They pass the cemetery where Carole's parents are buried. They pass McKinley High School, and Carole doesn't miss how Finn shrinks in his seat at the sight of the building. They pass the playground Finn and Noah used to go to every day during summer vacation. They pass Sheetz 'n' Things, where Finn works. They pass an apartment complex that Finn had pointed out to her before, telling her that Mr. Schue lived in one of those.

They go into the more city-ish parts of Lima, passing restaurants and grocery stores and fabric stores and six fast food places. There's a movie theatre and a small children's museum and a dance studio and a bridal shop. They're driving down a street that's home to classy restaurants on one side and a gentleman's club and an adult paraphernalia store on the other when Finn taps her on the shoulder.

For the briefest moment possible, Carole's worried he'll play the "pity me, Mommy" card and ask to visit _that_ side of the street. But, of course, she's raised a better boy than that, because Finn's pointing to the classy restaurant side. She turns and realizes he's pointing at a Thai food place.

"You hungry?" she asks, knowing the answer. He nods, so she pulls in front of a parking meter and shuts off the car. When a waiter shows them to their seats, Carole pointedly takes the one facing the window.

It's a little weird because Finn would normally be talking her ear off by now about what they'd been doing in glee practice, but instead he's just flipping through the menu, a bored look on his face. When he looks up, he catches sight of something over Carole's shoulder and a small smile breaks across his face. He waves, obviously recognizing someone.

Carole turns and sees Rachel waving back, followed by two men who must be her fathers. Rachel shows the waiter a piece of paper, and Carole realizes that none of them are speaking today. Finn waves the waiter over, pointing to the table next to them and looking hopeful. The waiter gets the hint and pushes the tables together, allowing their two families to sit together.

"Hello, Rachel," Carole smiles warmly at the girl. "And you two are her fathers?" She extends a hand to the man nearest. "We haven't met; I'm Carole Hudson and this is my son, Finn."

She shakes hands with the closer Mr. Berry while the other one scribbles something down in a notebook. He pushes it towards her.

_It's a pleasure. I'm Leroy and my husband is Hiram._

Carole hands the notebook back, saying, "It's nice to meet you both."

With nobody else talking and Carole not really knowing what to say, the group fell into silence. It wasn't too uncomfortable, because they all could pretend they were reading the menu if they started to feel awkward, but Carole felt as if all four of them wanted her to start babbling on to cover the silence.

"Do you three come here often?" she asks lamely, and this time it's Rachel who writes in the notebook.

_We come here every week. I guess you could say it's one of our favorite places to eat in all of Lima! The tasteless décor across the street is just an unfortunate coincidence._

Carole grins, nodding her agreement. Hiram takes the notebook back and writes something, passing it back to her.

_Forgive me for prying, but you are the Carole who is now in a relationship with Burt Hummel, correct?_

"Yes, that's me," Carole wonders where this is going.

_Wonderful. It's so nice to see that he's found someone that accepts his son._

Carole wonders how Hiram knows Burt, but figures that he is a customer of Burt's. She does make a mental note to ask Burt about any past relationships when she gets home. If there are any skeletons in the closet or anything she should make sure Kurt knows about her feelings towards him, she wants to know.

The conversation, or lack thereof, is surprisingly easy to hold. Whenever Hiram, Leroy, Rachel, or Finn want to say something to her or each other, they pass the notebook around. If they're interested in what she's saying, they'll raise their eyebrows and she'll know to keep going. Their waiter must think they're crazy, but he doesn't complain when they hand him a sheet of paper with their orders on it when he comes to ask if they've decided.

They eat quickly, probably because there's no conversation to distract them. When they finish, Leroy invited Carole and Finn over to their house for dessert. Finn seems to like the idea, so Carole says yes.

She's not sure what she's expecting their house to look like, but whatever preconceived notions she may have had were quashed when she entered the front door. Sure, their driveway was covered in rainbows, but the inside was very calm and pleasant. If it hadn't been for the family photos on the walls, it could have been home to the typical husband/wife/two-and-a-half-kids/dog family that you hear about every day.

Finn and Rachel pass a notebook back and forth between the two of them, obviously having some form of a conversation. Carole sits with Leroy and Hiram at their kitchen table, helping them make sundaes for Finn and Rachel. She notices that Rachel's is made with frozen yoghurt and not ice cream. Maybe the girl is lactose intolerant?

She keeps a pleasant, if a bit one-sided, conversation going with Rachel's dads. She asks them why they chose to settle down in Lima and how they met. Leroy blushes purple when Hiram passes her the notebook that tells of their first meeting, but she laughs good-naturedly and tells them she thinks it's cute. It turns out both have family in Lima, so they thought it best to stay. They try to get out as much as possible, taking to Rachel to New York City every summer and taking long day trips as often as possible throughout the school year.

_You'd be surprised just how many LGBT people there are in Lima,_ Leroy writes. _ They try to hush us up, but we have a way of finding each other anyway. It's been great, having that support system, especially since we have Rachel. If Burt's okay with it, we could introduce Kurt to some of the others._

"That's a wonderful idea," Carole smiles. "I know all his friends doing Day of Silence with him really meant a lot to Kurt, so meeting people who have gone through the same thing as him would be great for him."

By the time she and Finn leave, she's promised to send over a book of recipies for the two men, who apparently cannot cook to save their lives. They've promised to hook her up with a discount at a different grocery store, once they find out which one she's been going to. It's remarkable just how normal this all seems, exchanging cooking tips with two men.

"Do you want to stop by the house?" Carole asks, and Finn knows that she doesn't mean Burt and Kurt's house. He nods, so she turns into their old neighborhood, pulling into their driveway.

The for sale sign is still in the front yard, and Carole knows that their real estate agent has had a hard time getting potential buyers interested. It's not because the house is in bad condition, it's just because it's an older house and she couldn't afford too many upgrades, like a modernized kitchen or a finished basement. She doesn't mention this to Finn, just hands him the key to the front door and lets him go in first.

She lingers outside for a few minutes, just staring at the house and trying not to become too nostalgic. She heads inside once she starts thinking about all the times she and Finn had played in the yard when he was younger.

The house looks bare and empty, but most of the furniture is still there. They hadn't needed to bring along the couch or the coffee table or either one of their beds, because the Hummels had their entire house fully furnished. The pictures and personal touches had left, though. Finn's father's chair was down in Finn and Kurt's room now, and Finn's embarrassing baby pictures were hanging in the guest bedroom. Most of Finn's old school pictures were now on display next to Kurt's, ordered by year.

She and Burt even had their old wedding photos on display in their respective bedrooms. While they cared for each other and knew that it was pointless to think of the past, neither one of them was ready to let go just yet.

Finn's footsteps creaked above her, and she knew he was in his old bedroom. Carole chose to stay in their living room, sitting down on the couch.

She watched the sun set through the window. Finn didn't come back down, so she curled up on the couch, closing her eyes and breathing in the scent that used to be home. It was as if she was inhaling nostalgia and exhaling change.

Carole awoke when she felt Finn's hand on her shoulder.

"Mom?" he said. "Mom, can we go back home now?"

"Sure, honey," she sat up, stretching and glancing at her watch. It was past midnight.

Finn put in one of his glee mix CDs that he and Kurt seemed to always be listening to when they were together, and sang along on the drive home. He seemed to be in a better mood now, and Carole hoped that having some time in his old room had helped.

But that didn't mean she wasn't going to talk with him about it later. She was going to get to the bottom of whatever had happened, because Carole Hudson doesn't take shit from anybody. And, by extension, that meant that she wasn't about to let her son take shit from anybody either.

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_Requested by and dedicated to: **Spookykat, ****Kristen36, ****tvspaz626, ****ray4ruffles, **and**************nycRENTgirl.**_


	14. Slushie Shield

_Sorry it took me so long to update! I've been out of state for a while and working almost every day for the past two weeks, plus I move back to school next week. But I'm hoping to get a few updates in before I move back, because then I'll have to start writing essays again... Bane of my existence._

_On another, unrelated note, I'm shamelessly using this author's note to pimp the Help Pakistan auction community on livejournal. There's some pretty sweet stuff over there, so you should go check it out: community. livejournal. com/help (underscore) pakistan. I'm offering a fanfic, so if you want to take a peek, it's on page 9 of the comments on the "Word Post." I'm puppetdumbly._

_Okay, long note over. Enjoy the chapter!_

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While the glee club had certainly changed since the events on Day of Silence, the rest of the school had yet to catch up. Sure, no Karofsky brothers meant a significant drop in bullying, but they still had Azimio and the rest of the idiot jocks to deal with.

Which is why, when Mike steps in front of Kurt to stop a slushie, it doesn't stop. He's suddenly covered in ice and syrup and he feels like he's been punched in the face by someone with a giant icicle for hands. And worse than that, he can feel it seeping everywhere. It's all over his face, in his hair, sliding down his neck and into his shirt…

His entire body convulses in a shiver that feels more like a spasm.

"Oh my God," Kurt's voice sounds far away and he wonders if the slushie got into his ears as well. "Azimio, get the fuck out of here!"

Even though he's shivering and sticky and he's positive that the slushie is going to get in his underwear in about two seconds, Mike can't help but feel amused at Kurt's language. That boy never uses the f-word unless he's really upset.

"Mike, are you okay?" He feels Kurt's hands on his arms, steering him toward the nearest bathroom.

"W-would you believe m-me if I t-told you y-yes?" Mike manages to stutter out, cracking a grin.

"No," Kurt says matter-of-factly, opening the door for him and ushering him inside. Mike checks the little person on the door, noticing that it is the boys' bathroom. Then he feels guilty for checking. Kurt's helping him out, so why should he care if the boy takes him into the girls' bathroom?

"Bend over the sink," Kurt instructs, turning Mike around and giving him a push. Mike does as he's told, bending backwards so he's practically lying down on top of the counter. Kurt turns the tap on, and suddenly there's warm water on his head and gentle fingers massaging his scalp.

While Kurt works on his hair, Mike manages to un-zip and take off his jacket. He can still feel slushie everywhere, but he hopes that his jacket blocked at least some of it. He wants to ask Kurt, but the water is rushing past his ears and he knows he won't be able to hear the answer.

Kurt turns off the water and goes over to the paper towel dispenser, saying, "So you can wipe off your face," as he does so. Mike straightens up and turns, focusing on the purple streaks on his face and the stain at the top of his shirt that thinned as it tricked downward. But yes, it does go all the way to the waistband of his jeans, proving his I-have-slushie-in-my-underwear theory.

Kurt wets the paper towel and hands it to him, so he begins wiping off his face. Kurt watches, a frown on his face.

"Why did you jump in front of my like that?" he asks. "I wore an older shirt for a reason." Mike looks in the mirror at Kurt for a moment, deciding that Kurt's "older" shirt looks like it's never been worn. "Plus, I have a change of clothes in my locker," Kurt adds. "I'm prepared for such monstrous attacks. But you're not."

"I hoped they'd stop," Mike shrugs.

Kurt laughs mirthlessly. "Mike, honey, you're in glee club and you were silent on Day of Silence. You're a loser now."

"I kinda figured," Mike grinned, showing Kurt that he didn't really care.

"Then why did you think they'd stop?" Kurt presses for a better answer.

Mike shrugs one shoulder. "I dunno, they did before."

"What, you stopped a slushie attack?" Kurt asks, obviously not putting two and two together yet.

"Yeah," Mike finishes wiping off his face and turns so he can speak to the real Kurt and not the Kurt in the mirror. "It worked every time I cut you off in the hallway. Well, you know, except for the bitchy grief I'd get about bad driving."

Kurt's face turns completely red in about two seconds.

"I'm sorry," Kurt says almost immediately, and Mike flaps his hands to shut him up.

"Don't worry about it," he says quickly. "It's not like I told you what I was doing, or anything."

"But," Kurt pauses, and Mike can practically see the wheels in his head moving, "you've done that so many times." A small frown creases his face, and he meets Mike's eyes. "A lot of times."

Mike shrugs. Again.

"I notice things," he says in an offhand voice. "Side effect of being quiet, I guess."

"Thank you," Kurt smiles at him warmly, making Mike forget about his sticky underwear for a moment. For one tiny moment it's almost like they're locked in place, looking at each other and smiling and forgetting that they're standing in the boys' bathroom and Mike's clothes are stained and the stickiness will probably start chafing if he doesn't _do_ something about it.

The toilet flushes. Both of them do as well, but then Matt walks out of the stall, laughing. Kurt rolls his eyes and Mike gives his friend a shove. Matt just keeps laughing, washing his hands and saying, "Just be glad I'm not Jacob."

He's still laughing when he leaves them to it. Mike shakes his head, embarrassed, but Kurt just says in an almost business-like tone, "I have a spare shirt in my locker, if you want it. It's just a T-shirt, and I doubt anyone will notice if it's a little small."

Mike can't help but notice how Kurt splutters a little between "notice" and "if," almost like he had meant to add something else but thought better of it halfway through.

"That'd be great," Mike nods, deciding to ignore Kurt's splutter. "You don't happen to know where I can get a pair of pants in my size, do you?"

"Artie?" Kurt guesses as they leave the bathroom, heading for Kurt's locker. "I doubt you'd be able to fit into my extra pair of jeans." The way his cheeks flush again tells Mike that, more likely than not, they're a pair of really tight jeans. But he accepts the T-shirt without peering inside Kurt's locker to find out, ducking back into the bathroom while Kurt flags down Artie. He cleans himself off quickly, using the now empty bathroom to his advantage, and tugging the shirt on, noticing that it does feel almost uncomfortably snug.

There's a knock at the bathroom door, and then Kurt comes in holding a pair of pants. Mike thinks it's absolutely adorable that Kurt actually knocked on the door of the public school bathroom before coming in. Then he mentally shakes himself for finding Kurt adorable.

"Here," Kurt offers him the pants. "Artie did have an extra pair. I hope they fit okay."

"Thank you," Mike takes the pants and holds them up. "And Artie too, obviously." He backs into a stall, changing quickly once he assessed the whole I-have-slushie-in-my-underwear situation. He's glad to find that it was more a mental thing and that the purple slush hadn't gone much further than the waistband. (Because going commando in someone else's pants is so not an option.)

"Not bad," Kurt says when he comes back out. "You're taller than Artie and bigger than me, but I don't think anyone will notice a little extra ankle."

Mike takes a moment to take in the fact that Kurt just told him that he was taller than Artie. That's a double-take kind of sentence.

As they leave the bathroom again, Mike now completely cleaned up and feeling much better, he asks Kurt, "So which one's worse: slushie or dumpster?"

"Slushie," Kurt says without hesitation. "It shocks your whole system and you feel like someone stabbed you if they hit you in the right spot. In the dumpster, most of the time you land on something soft. Smelly, but soft."

"Makes sense," Mike nods. Kurt grins wickedly and says, "If you don't believe me, I'm sure Finn and Puck would be willing to complete your initiation as a loser by tossing you in."

"No tossing," Mike shakes his head. "Knowing my luck, they'd toss me in right after it's been emptied. And I need to be conscious for the musical this weekend, right?"

"Right," Kurt agrees. He's practically glowing at this point, and Mike notices that his arm twitches. He can't help but wonder if it's because Kurt is so used to walking with his arm linked with Mercedes'.

"See you in class," Mike waves as they reach his first classroom.

"Don't walk in front of any more slushies!" Kurt calls as he continues down the hallway.

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_Requested by and dedicated to: **Daydreaming Nightwalker **and**nycRENTgirl**._


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